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See website for details. Of

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or every one of the tour all

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doing well. On this week's

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episode of Group Stars To we have

0:39

three stories that I think you'll really

0:41

enjoy. The first have been a strange

0:43

town that has an emergency alert system

0:45

that only goes off when need a

0:48

false from the sky. What's.

0:50

Good into it. As we drift

0:52

further and Mr. creeps my. My

0:58

town has an emergency alert system.

1:01

When it goes off at my

1:03

job, it ends. Written

1:05

by G Trip a fourteen.

1:13

I'm sure everybody thinks their home

1:15

town as a unique little plays.

1:18

Not. Saying that you love it just that

1:20

you believe there's no other place on earth

1:22

quite like that. Maybe

1:24

that's true. I can't argue or. I

1:27

spent my entire life in the same place

1:29

so I can speak of our unique of

1:31

A little towns may be here. What

1:34

I can tell you is that where I

1:36

come from his you need. And

1:38

it isn't a good thing. That

1:41

Olympia Springs, Kentucky is one of a

1:43

kind in the worst of ways. And

1:47

back in the eighteen hundreds piece is a me

1:49

began to fall from the sky. Her.

1:52

Last around five minutes before

1:54

it's. No. one was able

1:56

to explain where it had come from but

1:58

most people didn't care It

2:01

was one of those weird little urban legends

2:03

that get forgotten over time. Not

2:06

this one. I dug up

2:08

an old article online about it from some

2:10

defunct newspaper out of Louisville. I'm

2:13

not going to print it here word for word. Probably

2:16

plagiarism or something. Not

2:18

that it would be the biggest of my troubles.

2:21

I'll just give you my abbreviated version.

2:26

On March 3rd, 1876, it rained

2:29

chunks of meat in Olympia Springs, Kentucky

2:31

for a little less than five minutes.

2:35

The witness considered to be the most

2:37

reliable was a woman identified only as

2:39

Mrs. Crouch, first

2:42

name unrecorded. She

2:44

reported sitting on her porch making soap

2:46

just before noon when the meat began

2:48

to fall onto her front yard. Hearing

2:52

it to be a sign from God, she

2:54

waited for the deluge of flesh to stop

2:56

before traveling to her neighbors to see if

2:58

it had affected the greater area. As

3:02

she walked, she could see that the

3:04

shreds of meat had fallen over all

3:06

of Olympia Springs. Her

3:08

neighbors wandered through their yard gazing

3:10

in fear and wonder at the

3:13

pieces of visceron muscle covering the

3:15

countryside. The handful of

3:17

citizens cooked in the meat in an

3:19

attempt to identify it. Opinions

3:21

ranged from beef, deer, lamb, and

3:24

bear. Without

3:26

being able to reach a consensus, somebody

3:28

from the town eventually sent a piece

3:30

of the meat to the Newark Scientific

3:33

Association. After

3:35

examination, the association determined the origin of

3:37

the meat to be one of two

3:39

things. The first possibility was

3:41

lung tissue from a horse. The

3:44

second possibility was lung tissue from

3:46

a human infant. The

3:48

source and variety of the meats

3:50

were never officially determined and the

3:53

strange event faded into obscurity. Some

3:56

theories ranged from a flock of

3:58

vultures, a simultaneous vomiting the meat

4:01

in the town, or an

4:03

odd collection of bacteria forming and falling

4:05

from the skies resembling chunks of flesh.

4:10

Meat falling from the sky is strange enough,

4:13

but who in the absolute hell would

4:15

believe a wake of vultures coughed up

4:17

their meal mid-flight? I

4:20

have looked it up online and found that

4:22

it is a startled response when threatened by

4:24

predators, but not when they are already

4:26

in the sky. Besides,

4:28

and this is purely anecdotal, Kentucky

4:31

is known for massive groups of

4:33

vultures and hunks

4:36

of bacteria forming in the sky. I'm

4:38

no scientist, but I call BS. Could

4:41

be wrong, but it just sounds like guesswork. The

4:45

article makes it sound like it happened once.

4:48

Now that garbage still pours from the

4:50

sky at irregular intervals to this day.

4:54

You see, meat still rains from the

4:56

sky approximately three times a month in

4:58

my hometown. Only

5:01

within the town boundaries, no further. Most

5:04

people have no clue where it comes from, but there

5:07

are a few that probably do. Me?

5:11

I was in one to be in the know. Still

5:14

don't have any idea where it comes from, but I

5:17

do think that I know at the very least

5:19

why it happens. Nothing

5:22

has to serve a purpose, even the gristly

5:24

stuff that pelts the ground every few weeks.

5:27

It sounds like a load of crap, huh? Sure,

5:30

I get it. It's one of

5:32

those hokey urban legends that get passed down

5:34

over the years. It

5:36

was probably a completely normal but strange event

5:39

and then boom. Joe

5:41

Blow told a slightly different version of it,

5:44

and then it passed down from generation to

5:46

generation with just a few changes here and

5:48

there until the story lost

5:50

its roads. Goes

5:52

from something ordinary to something out of

5:54

this world. I've

5:57

watched it happen my entire life. It

6:00

became so commonplace. It

6:02

never occurred to me as a child that it

6:04

didn't happen everywhere. I

6:06

just accepted it. As

6:09

I grew older, it became clear it

6:11

wasn't the norm. And

6:13

now as an adult, my job is

6:15

to clean it up. The

6:19

town is in big but there are 21 of

6:21

us on the payroll. We all

6:23

make a little north of 60,000 a

6:25

year, which is a jackpot

6:27

in a rural area like this. They

6:30

call us the city work crew but you

6:33

won't see us out very often. Everyone

6:36

in town knows we're the guys that clean up

6:38

that god forsaken mess. We're

6:41

kind of urban legends ourselves. No

6:43

one else in town is allowed out while

6:46

the meat falls except for us. You're

6:48

probably asking yourself why no one in Olympia

6:51

Springs has tried to figure out why it

6:53

rains flesh or where it comes from. It's

6:56

an honest enough concern but all I can tell

6:58

you is people do wonder. It's

7:01

a constant topic of hushed conversation

7:04

throughout town. But no

7:06

one wants to ask questions too loudly. Peritioners

7:09

at the Olympia Springs primitive church can

7:12

get hostile pretty quickly if they

7:14

overhear people discussing it. Reverend

7:18

Packard and his zealots have been known to

7:20

make late night visits to the homes of

7:22

those who ask too many questions. Best

7:25

to keep your mouth shut. Old

7:28

Tom, the owner of the Wicked Eye Saloon

7:30

would tell any customer that he heard discussing

7:32

the matter. Got

7:34

some of the primitives in here tonight. Mind

7:37

what you say. My

7:39

job used to seem pretty cushy. You're

7:42

only scheduled to work one eight hour shift a

7:44

week. The only duty during

7:46

that time is to sit in the back

7:48

stoop of the town hall annex and watch

7:50

these skies for signs of falling meat. Odds

7:54

are it's going to hit on some other poor

7:56

person's shift but now and again you're the one

7:58

who gets to sound the alarm. When

8:01

the downpour gets going, it's all hands on

8:03

deck. All 21 of

8:06

us report for cleanup duty

8:08

immediately. It doesn't fall that fixed

8:10

times either. Like I said,

8:12

about three times a month, but even that

8:14

can change. Could be twice, it

8:16

could be five times, a day or night. Two

8:20

feet of snow or a mid-August drought, it

8:22

doesn't matter. If

8:24

it starts on your shift, there is a

8:26

paint-chipped red button, old red, affixed to the

8:29

brick wall of the annex. As

8:31

soon as the meat starts to fall, you punch

8:33

it. Sirens that

8:35

take your mind to World War

8:38

II air raid warnings burst across

8:40

the town. When the siren is on,

8:42

every citizen in town knows to head indoors

8:44

immediately. No questions asked.

8:47

You just drop everything and get moving. If

8:51

you're taking a stroll through a neighborhood far from

8:53

home when the alarm sounds, you'll

8:55

walk to the first available home, knocking

8:58

the door and the owner is going

9:00

to let you inside. It's been that way

9:02

since I was a kid. Longer than

9:04

that, I'm sure. It happened

9:07

to me a lot as a kid. Most

9:09

parents would tell their children to play close to

9:11

the house, but I mean, what kid listens to

9:13

all that? I

9:15

would be halfway across town playing with the Denton

9:17

brothers most of the time when the alarms went

9:20

off. It was a heck of

9:22

a lot more fun to take cover with

9:24

some kids your age rather than sitting around

9:26

in your room by yourself. Once

9:28

you're safely inside, as you shut the

9:30

blinds and stay inside until the sirens

9:32

cut off, the city

9:35

work crew handles that too. After

9:38

our crew scours the town looking for the

9:40

pulpy shreds and takes them to the church,

9:43

we hit that good old red button again

9:45

and the wailing ceases. You're

9:47

free to head outside until

9:49

we sound the alarm again.

9:51

While we're on cleanup duty, we have to

9:53

wear the most uncomfortable get up that I've

9:55

ever had the displeasure of putting on. Rubber

9:59

fishing waiters with attached boots,

10:01

knee length raincoat, fisherman's hat,

10:04

goggles, and a respirator. It's

10:07

like your own personal sauna with no off

10:09

switch. If you've

10:11

ever watched The Deverest Catch, you'll get a

10:14

pretty good feel for that uniform. It

10:16

looks like we're about to toss crab traps in

10:19

the Bering Sea. We

10:22

haul around wheelbarrows and use trash picker

10:24

sticks to collect the fleshy bits across

10:26

the town. It

10:28

feels like you're making a demonic kebab when you've

10:30

gathered up a dozen chunks of the stuff. Once

10:34

your trash spike is covered in the slimy

10:36

mass, you press them off into

10:38

the wheelbarrow. When they

10:41

get topped off, you'll head up to the main

10:43

drags and dump the loads into Rubbermaid Toads in

10:45

the back of the City Work Truck. By

10:48

the time we've collected it all, it fills up 21

10:50

of those Rubbermaid Toads exactly.

10:53

That's about the best metric we've figured out

10:55

for determining if we've found it all. Some

10:59

of the crews in the old days tried conning

11:01

the pieces. A few other

11:03

crews tried to calculate the average weight. It

11:06

never really seemed to be the same, but

11:09

the volume of 21 of those red

11:11

storage grates seemed to do the trick.

11:15

After a thorough sweep of the town, we

11:17

haul the greasy tubs to the back of

11:19

Olympia Springs Primitive Church. Reverend

11:22

Packard and we'll be standing out back next to

11:24

the old coal chute and watching as we dump

11:26

all 21 loads of meat into

11:28

the inky darkness. He

11:30

never wore the same safety equipment as we

11:33

did though. Just held an

11:35

umbrella over his head which was a little

11:37

funny to watch since all the meat had

11:39

finished falling or we wouldn't even be there.

11:42

But dang, Packard was a weird guy. I

11:45

had never seen him do anything out of

11:47

the way. Nothing bad. He

11:50

just gave me the creeps. Had this big,

11:52

weird grin on his face while he would

11:54

watch us dump the tubs down the old

11:56

chute. Sometimes

11:58

he would be whistling some tune. whom this

12:00

little diddy, it just seemed like

12:02

he enjoyed those days. What

12:06

he did with the meat had bothered me too. He

12:09

told us there was an old furnace down there

12:11

that he used to burn up all the piles

12:13

of disgusting viscera, but the explanation

12:15

never sat well with me. When

12:18

we rolled the totes to him and he opened the chute,

12:21

the smell of ammonia with the coppery tang

12:23

of blood would hit you in the face

12:25

like a sack of bricks. It

12:28

smelled like a hundred years worth of rot was

12:30

pouring out of the hole. Even

12:33

when the heavy steel doors were closed, the

12:35

rake would still drift out. It

12:37

smelled like he was just storing the stuff

12:40

down there. I knew that he couldn't

12:42

be. It would be flowing out of

12:44

the coal chute and into the sanctuary if he

12:46

was, but I'd be lying

12:48

if it didn't smell like every bit of

12:50

it was just down there rotting into the

12:52

southern floor. I

12:55

had done the job for over 15 years with

12:58

no complaints. My time was largely

13:00

my own and the fellas I worked with were

13:02

good company. One

13:04

or two of them would usually pop in at the

13:06

annex and keep me company on the porch. Good

13:09

fellas to work with. Everything

13:11

was smooth sailing until Thomas Jordan on

13:14

our crew screwed the pooch. The

13:17

idiot broke the cardinal rule and

13:19

swallowed some of that ungodly stuff.

13:22

The day it happened, I was on watch behind

13:24

the annex. Thumbing through an

13:26

old paper back ate up most of

13:28

my days on duty, but that day,

13:30

the old Agatha Christie book couldn't hook

13:32

my attention. My eyes were

13:35

getting heavy and I was about to drift off

13:37

into a mid-afternoon nap when I heard a wet

13:39

plop on the metal roof above me. Most

13:42

of the guys hated it when the rain started

13:44

on their shaft. The sirens

13:46

were the loudest outside of the annex, but

13:49

I didn't mind. I

13:51

kept a pair of earplugs in my pocket

13:53

and always enjoyed the fact that I

13:55

didn't have to haul my butt from my house to work.

14:00

piece of gristle slid down into the concrete in

14:02

front of me, and I reached

14:04

over my shoulder and slapped old Rad. As

14:07

the sirens blasted to life, I tossed the

14:10

paper back into the chair and headed inside

14:12

to gear up. My

14:14

walkie chattered as the other crewmen

14:17

signaled their acknowledgement and

14:19

I popped in my earplugs to

14:21

block out the wailing klaxon. Within

14:23

two minutes of the siren, all 21

14:25

men on the crew signaled that they were

14:27

in action in collecting the falling meat. Some

14:31

of them kept work trucks at their houses,

14:33

which was handy since it allowed us to

14:35

cover a greater area with less downtime. I

14:38

had looked at the sky that day and

14:41

could see the characteristic scarlet hue that appeared

14:43

when the rain had started, and never

14:45

overpowered the blue of the sky

14:47

but these sickening shades always made

14:50

itself known. Something about

14:52

the red tinge to these skies that day

14:54

looked a little different. It was

14:56

darker, not the usual lighter tone of

14:58

Rad. I didn't think much

15:00

of it, but maybe I should have. Not

15:02

one to believe in signs, but it seems like

15:05

that could have been one. The

15:07

downpour lasted longer than usual that

15:09

day. Seven minutes since

15:11

these tart and fat globs of flesh

15:14

were still pelting off of my gear

15:16

and onto the ground. It

15:18

was never an overwhelming amount, but longer

15:21

periods of downfall equaled a longer clean.

15:23

It never caused

15:25

a greater quantity of meat to fall,

15:28

but the pieces seemed smaller which made it take

15:30

about twice the time to clean it up.

15:34

Once the greasy chunk stopped falling and I

15:36

had cleaned up my section of town, I

15:39

dumped the rest of my load into the

15:42

red totes in the back of the truck

15:44

and secured the plastic lid before sliding into

15:46

the cab. I always cranked up the

15:48

AC as high as it would go, summer

15:50

or winter. The rain

15:52

gear didn't allow much airflow and I was always

15:55

a dripping mess by the time that I wrapped

15:57

up my shaft. the

16:00

truck into drive and headed toward the church, dreading

16:03

seeing the weird old man standing

16:05

beside the chute. When

16:08

I pulled up I saw Packard standing beside

16:10

the opening. He was

16:12

smiling and holding a neon yellow umbrella

16:14

over his head. Greasy

16:17

streaks of red and brown liquid ran down

16:19

the side and I knew that

16:21

he had stood outside during the downfall. Absolutely

16:25

against the town rules but I'm

16:27

not sure who would even tell him he needed to

16:29

go inside. It wasn't

16:31

as if anybody else was lining up to

16:34

dispose of the toads. The

16:37

comical sight of the old pastor would have

16:39

made me laugh if he didn't make me

16:41

so dang uncomfortable. I

16:43

slid out of the cab and avoided making eye

16:46

contact with him as I slid

16:48

the toads into the wheelbarrow. My

16:51

eyes stayed fixed on the ground ahead of me

16:53

as I approached. Ahoy

16:55

there, Jacob. Reverend Packard

16:57

is shouted as I rode my

16:59

solitary load toward the coal chute.

17:02

He wore a smooth black suit with a

17:04

priest collar which puzzled me. His

17:07

house of worship, Olympia Springs

17:09

Primitive Church, was non-denominational. I'm

17:12

no theologian but I was pretty

17:14

sure only Catholics and maybe Presbyterians

17:16

wore the collars. The

17:19

downpour of muscle and tissue had stopped

17:21

long ago but still, he

17:23

held his yellow umbrella overhead. Was

17:27

it a hard day, young man? The rain

17:29

seemed to last a good bit longer than

17:32

usual. It's been many a year since

17:34

I've seen it do such a thing. I

17:37

just nodded at the old man in response as

17:39

I moved to the side and then lined up

17:41

the end of the wheelbarrow with the opening. Out

17:44

of the corner of my eye I could see

17:47

him staring at me. His televangelist grin and

17:49

perky demeanor during these days had always

17:51

put me on edge. Packard

17:54

was the only person in town who seemed

17:56

to find any joy in those events. The

17:59

front tire of my The way-oh-barrow bumped against the

18:01

edge of the chute and I let go of

18:03

the handles, setting the legs onto the

18:05

damp earth. I

18:07

edged between Packard and the chute, doing my

18:09

best not to touch him, as

18:11

I tipped the tote's slick load of flesh

18:14

into the blackness below. Sickening

18:17

splatters echoed up from the church

18:19

basement accompanied by the aroma of

18:21

ammonia and blood. The

18:24

last few shreds of flesh and sinew fell from

18:26

the edge of the red tote into the darkness

18:28

below. More

18:31

than once, whatever I had eaten for breakfast would

18:33

pour out of me and follow the load into

18:35

the hole. If

18:37

I was fast enough to pull my mask away from my

18:39

mouth, that was. My

18:42

stomach churned as it always had, but luckily

18:44

I managed to keep my meal down. Even

18:48

through the respirator, the stench made my

18:50

eyes water. I

18:52

tried not to let my mind linger too long

18:54

on the fact that Packard stood just feet away,

18:57

feeling as the foul stench floated through

18:59

the hot afternoon air. The

19:03

rain lasted longer than usual today,

19:06

Packard said again, nugly

19:08

in his voice, piercing my ears

19:10

like nails on a chalkboard. Whenever

19:13

you ignored the old man, he would push

19:15

whatever topic you wanted to disguise. No

19:18

wonder what that's about. Kind

19:22

of weird to me that you only wonder why

19:24

it lasted longer instead of why this stuff happens

19:26

at all. I grunted

19:28

as I turned to face the old man. Something

19:32

about his aura sent me beyond my tipping point

19:34

that day and I couldn't keep my mouth shut.

19:38

Why in the heck is this such a fun day for

19:40

you, old man? You're always out

19:42

here grinning like something good happened. Meads

19:45

falling from the sky, it ain't normal. Maybe

19:48

you shouldn't be so thrilled. Oh,

19:51

you ought to be grateful, he said, the

19:54

unsettling grin still stretching across his

19:56

face, shifting the umbrella

19:58

in his grab. He gestured

20:00

to the town around us with his free

20:02

hand. I

20:04

turned around and began walking toward my truck

20:06

before I began again. It

20:09

keeps you employed and keeps Olympia

20:11

Springs safe. You

20:13

truly are doing important work, Jacob.

20:16

I do hope you know that. I

20:19

paused and turned around to look at the gleeful

20:21

preacher. What

20:23

the heck do you mean it keeps us safe?

20:25

I asked. Already walking toward the

20:27

man with my fist clenched. You

20:30

know what this is. The

20:32

smile melted away from Packard's wrinkled

20:34

face. His brows furrowed and

20:36

he looked up toward the sky. The

20:39

streaks of red had faded away

20:41

long ago, his arms stretched out,

20:43

palms turned upward, his

20:46

umbrella toppled from his hand onto the

20:48

ground. That Cheshire smile

20:50

slid back across his lips. No,

20:54

he muttered. Just a labor

20:56

of God set before us. Job

20:58

toiled in his fields to glorify the

21:00

Lord. And we shall do

21:03

the same. We gathered

21:05

the downfall as the Israelites gathered

21:07

mana in the desert. The

21:10

Israelites ate the mana. I

21:12

said with a sneer, we burned

21:15

this stuff. No

21:17

reply. Packard just kept

21:19

his arms outstretched and looked into the sky.

21:23

Later that night, I was sitting in my

21:25

recliner working my way through a six pack

21:27

when my cell phone rang. Looking

21:30

at the screen, I saw Thomas's face smiling

21:32

stupidly at me. As the newest

21:34

man on the crew, we tended to

21:36

call a lot. Always had questions

21:38

about the job. I

21:41

slid my thumb across the screen to answer and

21:43

put the phone to my ear. I

21:46

didn't see you today, Tommy boy.

21:48

I said without a greeting. I

21:50

left pretty quick after I

21:53

dropped off my totes. He

21:55

responded. His Voice sounded strange, oddly

21:57

thick, like he had a mouthful of peels.

21:59

in a butter. Not

22:02

feeling too well if I'm being

22:04

honest. Been laid out in bed

22:06

since I got home earlier. What's

22:09

got you under the weather? Tires.

22:11

Desire semi beer done on the table in

22:14

dropped the leg rest of the recliner. If

22:17

he's got a stomach bug or something, just let

22:19

me know. Annie Dillard The rest of

22:21

the crew know to be expecting some extra work

22:23

of Iran's again before you're on the band. The.

22:26

Line remain silent. Tom.

22:29

I questioned. New. Thereby

22:31

to. And. Son of a deal. If

22:33

you need to take a few sick days, I'll

22:35

pick up your luggage Shifted the Annex this week.

22:39

To. Week I screwed up

22:41

He finally responded. I

22:44

know I gotta tell someone been.

22:46

I don't know, I'm scared. They're

22:49

just tell me what happened Thomas

22:52

I replied concerning mounting. Whatever.

22:54

The problem is will get it sorted out.

22:57

Got some of them me to

22:59

my mouth today at work Thomas

23:01

replied. His. Voice simeon thicker than

23:03

and had when I first answered the call.

23:06

Her. My stomach

23:08

spinning not server science and

23:10

stuck on the toilet. it's

23:12

coming out Boffins Man, I'm

23:14

a I'm scared. And

23:17

I throw my brown confusion. How

23:20

the heck reagan some in a garbage in

23:22

his mouth? Of were

23:24

you wearing your gear I asked. He.

23:27

Didn't take it off or you are working to do.

23:30

Silence again. Thomas.

23:33

Were you wearing your mask or not?

23:35

I bart. Don't. Tell me that you

23:37

took it off. We've. Been over this

23:39

a million times. Safety. Gear

23:41

is mandatory. It. Was

23:44

hot take up. He. Garble

23:46

a weekly here. I

23:48

hadn't pulled a phone away from his face and

23:51

the sound of vomit splash in in the toilet

23:53

filled the Cylons. i just pulled

23:55

down my respirator for a second to

23:57

catch my breath and piece of it

24:00

fell in my mouth. I

24:02

spit it out but I'm pretty sure

24:04

I swallowed some of the blood on it. I

24:07

kept sippin' but the nasty taste wouldn't go

24:09

away. It's still lingering now

24:11

even though I've been pukin' it all up."

24:15

You dressed? I asked as

24:17

I jumped from the recliner and started pulling at

24:19

my boots. I'm coming to take

24:21

you to see the doctor. Yes,

24:24

I'm still dressed. He said. I

24:27

could hear thick, mucus he rasped as

24:29

he spoke. Thanks,

24:31

Jake. There

24:34

wasn't much traffic on the main road

24:36

as I peeled through town toward Thomas'

24:38

house. I blew through

24:40

some stop signs and need two traffic signals.

24:43

I thought about slowing down for

24:45

a moment, fearing a speeding ticket

24:47

but my concerns melted away quickly.

24:49

The city work crew wasn't exactly

24:51

beyond the law but the local deputies

24:53

were pretty happy to let us go

24:56

for traffic offenses. Nobody

24:58

wanted to be the person who kept one of

25:00

the crew from getting to the job. Most

25:03

of us had been doing the cleanup job for

25:06

years but Thomas was just a kid. Old

25:09

timers took it upon themselves to show the newcomers

25:11

to the crew all the ins and outs of

25:13

the job. Thomas had

25:15

been my unofficial apprentice and I had

25:18

taken his training seriously. We had

25:20

all warned him not to take a chance with this

25:23

stuff but it seemed like nothing that

25:25

I had told him sank in. Less

25:29

than twenty minutes after hanging up the

25:31

phone I parked my truck haphazardly in

25:33

Thomas' driveway and bounded to the porch.

25:36

I pounded against the door and called his

25:38

name for what felt like an hour but

25:40

I received no response. My

25:43

heart was slamming against my chest as I

25:45

waited for him to answer. No one that

25:47

I knew of had ever gotten any of the meat

25:49

in their mouth and I was worried what

25:52

it could do to him. I

25:54

slammed my fist on the door a few more

25:56

times but he still didn't answer, pressing

25:59

my ear again. against the door I could hear a

26:01

faint voice but couldn't make out the words. My

26:04

panic had risen to a point that I couldn't

26:06

handle. I began to kick

26:08

the door. The cheap wooden door began to crack

26:10

and splinter but it remained tightly in the frame.

26:14

Realizing that I was making no real progress I

26:16

ran back to my truck and pulled a pry

26:19

bar from the toolbox. It

26:21

only took a few tries before a final

26:23

cracking of wood sounded and the door flew

26:25

inward. In front

26:27

of me sprawled on the living room floor

26:30

was Thomas, or what

26:32

I thought was Thomas. He

26:34

had always been a bean-pull of a kid but

26:36

not anymore. The same

26:38

wretched snarl from the church coal chute filled

26:40

my nose as I walked toward the fleshy

26:43

pile in the center of the living room

26:45

rug. An almost

26:47

human-like figure squirmed lazily in

26:49

place. Folds of

26:51

fatty flesh spilled out from a shirt.

26:54

His jeans were bursting at the seams. All

26:57

of his fingers and toes were swollen

26:59

like cooked sausage, protruding from

27:01

bloated stubs that no longer resembled

27:04

arms or legs. Blood

27:06

and bile pulled around him as his

27:08

flesh rippled and paused. I

27:10

turned my head trying to suck in a breath of

27:12

fresh air from the open door but

27:15

gagged as the fitted air filled my

27:17

lungs. I retched

27:19

covering my mouth with the collar of my

27:21

shirt. Tom,

27:24

I muttered in a weak voice trying not to gag.

27:27

Thomas, can you hear me? Jacob,

27:31

the thing replied with a wet wheezing

27:34

effort. Please help

27:36

me, I can't breathe. The

27:39

saliva bubbled from a fatty fold where his

27:42

face should have been. His

27:44

words came out in wet, garbled

27:46

bursts. The repulsive appendages

27:48

twitched as the mound of flesh

27:50

attempted to orient itself toward me.

27:54

Its efforts were worthless and a blubbering

27:56

cry poured from the folds. I

27:59

began to stumble back. back as the thick fingers

28:01

lifted and reached toward me. My

28:04

stomach began to churn violently again and

28:06

I ran outside and vomited off the

28:08

edge of the porch. After

28:10

wiping away the wet flecks on my face, I

28:12

pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed

28:14

911. When the operator answered

28:18

I rambled incoherently about Thomas' job

28:20

and the work crew in his

28:22

grotesque condition. The

28:24

woman on the other line tried to calm me down but

28:26

it was no use. Eventually

28:29

the operator settled for the address and told

28:31

me that an EMT crew would be on

28:34

their way immediately. I

28:37

paced the driveway while I waited. Thomas

28:39

needed help but I knew there wasn't a thing that I

28:41

could do for him. Looking

28:44

at him made me feel like I was losing

28:46

my mind. More than once

28:48

I had to stop myself from going back in the

28:50

house. I knew that thing in

28:52

there had to be Thomas but nothing

28:54

from the darkest part of my mind could

28:56

understand how swallowing any of that meat could

28:58

have done this to him. When

29:02

the EMTs arrived I watched helplessly

29:05

from the driveway. The two men

29:07

struggled trying to slide Thomas' massive

29:09

frame onto the gurney but

29:11

his incredible weight was too much for them.

29:15

One of the men called for his second

29:17

EMT unit and they both

29:19

waited on the porch for the

29:21

additional crew to arrive. Why the

29:23

heck are you two standing out here? I shot it

29:25

from the driveway. Get the heck in

29:28

there and help them. We've

29:30

never seen anything like this. One of the

29:32

men said, I'm not sure what

29:34

crap he's going to have to wait until we can

29:36

get him to the hospital. This is too much for

29:38

me. Another

29:41

ambulance came blaring down the road and parked behind

29:43

the other in the drive. Two

29:46

more EMTs ran toward the door and vanished

29:48

inside. I thought

29:50

for a moment to follow them but I knew that

29:52

I would be no help. The

29:55

combined effort of four men and two gurneys

29:57

was enough to find the Harlem out of

29:59

the house. house and load him into the back

30:01

of the ambulance. A

30:03

trail of blood and bile trickled down behind them

30:05

as they carried him out. The

30:08

second EMT team closed up the ambulance

30:10

and slapped the back door before the

30:12

sirens boomed to life. Gravel

30:15

flew into the air as they peeled away from

30:17

the house. Where

30:20

are they taking him? I asked one

30:22

of the EMTs. A county

30:24

general, one responded visibly shaken. He

30:26

fumbled a cigarette from the crumpled

30:29

pack in his jacket pocket. As

30:32

the hell did lighter to his smoke, I recognized

30:34

him. Dale Tippett, we've

30:36

gone to high school together. Many

30:38

ERs about to have one heck

30:40

of an experience. I'll

30:43

meet you there. I barked and started running

30:45

toward my truck. No,

30:47

Doe responded. Mary says

30:49

for you to go home. Could be another rain.

30:53

I frozen my tracks. What

30:55

do you mean the mayor told me to go

30:57

home? I asked, fingers curled into

30:59

a fast. I can't leave

31:02

him alone there. Many illness

31:04

on the city cleanup crew is reported

31:06

to the mayor. He said sternly, can't

31:08

have to you out of rotation. If it

31:11

happens again while the two of you are out,

31:13

it could cause issues. You know the rules. They

31:16

already fell today. I shot it at the man.

31:18

I am 48 years

31:21

old and never once in my entire life had

31:23

that happened twice in a day. Go

31:26

home, Jake. Dale said, as

31:28

he got into his ambulance, you

31:30

can't do anything for him. God

31:32

knows if county general can either. He slammed

31:36

the door and the ambulance drove out of

31:38

sight. Frustrated

31:40

and scared, I got on my truck and

31:42

let it idle as I stared out at

31:44

the darkening street. I

31:47

didn't want to leave Thomas alone at the hospital, but

31:49

I knew that Dale was late. What

31:51

the heck could I have done for him? I

31:54

couldn't even keep it together enough to stay in the

31:56

room with him while I waited for help to arrive.

32:00

Rather than take the director out home, I

32:02

decided to take the long way back to

32:04

clear my hat. The

32:06

country roads and cool evening air would do me

32:08

some good. Cigarette butts

32:11

were overflowing from the console ashtray by

32:13

the time that I decided to finally

32:15

call it a night. Tired

32:17

and confused, I started heading toward the

32:20

house. Olympia Springs' primitive

32:22

church sat ahead of me. It sat

32:25

on Route 32 and I passed it every

32:27

time I drove to town and back. The

32:30

place sent a shiver down my spine every time that

32:32

I saw it. I'd always

32:34

imagined Reverend Packard was watching me through

32:36

the window of a maniacal

32:38

grin on his face. Usually

32:41

the only Packard's old sedan sat outside

32:43

the church when there were no services,

32:46

but I could see the outline of a large

32:48

vehicle sitting at the rear. As

32:51

I cruised closer, I could make out the red

32:53

and white details. It was

32:56

the ambulance that had carried Thomas away

32:58

heading for county general. Why

33:01

the heck was the ambulance sitting outside of the

33:03

church? The

33:05

four EMTs were hauling Thomas out of the

33:07

ambulance and carrying him toward the back of

33:09

the church. A large

33:11

white sheet was draped over his body, flapping

33:14

in a night breeze. Packard

33:16

was standing beside them, guiding their path

33:18

with a flashlight and patting

33:21

them on the back as they struggled with the

33:23

load. They vanished

33:25

around the corner of the building. Scared

33:28

that I would lose sight of them, I

33:30

hit the gas and pulled my truck onto old

33:33

Henry Road. There was nothing

33:35

more than two gravel ruts but I ran

33:37

beside the church so that I could keep

33:39

my eyes on Packard and the EMTs. I

33:42

turned off my headlights as I rolled onto the

33:44

gravel, scared that they would

33:46

find me watching them. The

33:49

men were still struggling to haul Thomas on

33:52

the stretchers. Packard stood ahead

33:54

of them, waving his flashlight and gesturing toward

33:56

the mouth of the open coal chute. They

34:00

reached the opening, the four men gathered all

34:02

of their strength and tilted Thomas toward the

34:04

opening, dumping him down into

34:06

the darkness below the church. I

34:10

slowly pushed my foot down in the gas pedal

34:12

and inched my truck down the road, blocking

34:14

myself from view behind a group of

34:17

squat trees. My

34:19

heart was in my throat and I could feel my

34:21

pulse in my ears. Those

34:23

people hadn't taken Thomas to the hospital. They

34:27

tossed him like garbage into that

34:29

ammonia-reaking basement. Once

34:32

I could see the ambulances vanish in the

34:34

distance, I put my truck

34:36

in reverse, backing slowly toward the main road.

34:39

For a moment I thought about turning on my

34:41

headlights but I didn't want Packard to see me

34:44

pull into the parking lot. I

34:46

figured he had gone inside by then but I

34:48

wasn't sure. All

34:51

of the lights were off inside the church and

34:53

there was no sign of the reverend from where

34:55

I parked. As I

34:57

slipped from the car and started toward the back

34:59

of my truck, I froze. What

35:02

the heck is your plan here, Jacob? I thought

35:04

to myself. You just go

35:06

into the church and haul Thomas out of the

35:08

cellar. I mean get a grip,

35:11

climb back in the truck and get the heck out of here.

35:15

I wanted to run to get in my truck and

35:17

drive home. Nobody would know that I

35:20

had been there. There was nothing

35:22

that I could do for Thomas anyway. So

35:24

I get myself mixed up in the middle of whatever

35:27

the heck was going on in there. But

35:30

I didn't. Thomas

35:32

was my friend and I couldn't leave him in that

35:34

cellar. My

35:37

keys jingled as I unlocked the chrome cross box

35:39

in the bed of my truck. I

35:42

looked around nervously, scared that the reverend would hear

35:44

me. But I needed to move

35:46

quickly. It took me a

35:48

few minutes of shifting through all the junk

35:50

inside but eventually my hand rubbed against the

35:53

smoothest stock of a shotgun. It

35:55

was wedged tightly in the side held in

35:57

place by a carelessly piled stack of metal.

36:00

of tools. I

36:02

pulled it out and checked the chamber. It

36:04

was empty and so I started pushing aside

36:06

wrenches and hammers until I saw what I

36:08

was looking for. A

36:11

floppy cardboard box of shells, a sitting

36:13

beneath a tape measure. Scooping

36:16

out a handful, I loaded the shotgun and

36:18

shoved the extra shells in my pocket. As

36:20

I approached the doors at the front door of

36:23

the church, the smell of rot and ammonia filled

36:25

the air. I had

36:27

never attended a service there, but the stench

36:29

was the same that came from the coal

36:31

chute around the back of the building. The

36:34

stench was enough to make me rudge. I

36:38

jagged silently trying not to draw attention.

36:41

The coppery tang of blood was so heavy in the

36:43

air that I felt like I had a mouthful

36:45

of pennies. With every

36:47

step that I took toward the door, the stench grew

36:49

thicker. I

36:52

pushed the double doors open and the

36:54

last moments of sunlight poured into the

36:56

sanctuary. Cows danced

36:58

across the room making me feel like I was

37:00

walking into one of those old 1980s haunted

37:03

house movies. Cobwebs

37:06

fluttered in these stifling breeze.

37:09

Dying rays of light filtered through

37:11

these smudged windows illuminating these

37:13

shabby carpet and splintering pews.

37:17

Dog-eared bibles flopped over the racks in

37:19

front of each seat. I

37:22

had seen people come in and out of there

37:24

for years but standing inside and none of them

37:26

made signs. The place

37:28

was in shambles. Imagining

37:31

sitting in there in the wretched smell was

37:33

beyond my imagination. What kind of

37:35

people would go in there to worship? What

37:38

would they worship? The boards

37:40

creaked under my boots as I made my way

37:42

down the aisle toward the altar. I scanned

37:45

my head from side to side, keeping my

37:48

shotgun level as I searched for another room

37:50

leading out of the sanctuary. To

37:53

the left of the pulpit there was an old

37:55

wooden door, the only one I could

37:57

see other than the one that I had entered through. I

38:00

inched toward the door, a cold sweat running down

38:02

the back of my neck. Any

38:05

moment I expected Packard to burst out from behind

38:07

the pulp is in charge of me, but as

38:10

I moved past, my fear was relieved.

38:14

My clammy hands wrapped tightly around the knob and

38:17

turned it as slowly as I could. The

38:20

old metal squealed at, just the right pitch,

38:22

then my ears began to ache. If

38:25

the old man was inside, I didn't know how he

38:27

wouldn't have heard it. The

38:30

door pushed in and I leveled my shotgun

38:32

again, keeping it trained in

38:34

front of me just in case old Packard

38:36

had decided to make an appearance. I

38:40

wouldn't go out of my way to shoot him, but

38:42

if he popped up well, things happened. My

38:45

eyes adjusted to be low light as I looked

38:47

into the room. Only

38:50

a single dim bulb burned behind

38:52

a dusty lampshade. A

38:55

desk sat in the corner piled with papers

38:57

and a few books. No

38:59

bible though. A strange

39:01

thing to be missing from the office of a

39:03

pastor. In the opposite

39:05

corner from the desk, I could see

39:08

the iron banister of a spiral staircase.

39:11

As I approached it and looked down into the

39:13

darkness, while I had almost

39:15

adjusted to the smell in the sanctuary, it

39:18

was pouring from the dark opening as though

39:20

I was standing in a field of rotten

39:22

meat. My throat

39:24

quivered as I fought to keep myself from

39:27

vomiting. Standing

39:29

at the top of the stairs, I could

39:31

see dancing flickers of light bouncing off the

39:33

bottom floor's brick wall. A

39:36

hot, putrid heat was rolling up toward me,

39:39

making the aroma from below so much

39:41

worse. My eyes

39:44

watered and my stomach was rolling. As

39:48

quietly as I could, I started to descend

39:50

the stairs, but the thought

39:52

of my boots was still unsettlingly loud.

39:55

I winced with each footfall, expecting somebody to

39:57

call out and see who was coming. If

40:01

Packard was down there, it was almost

40:03

impossible the slimy guy hadn't heard me

40:05

coming. But still, I

40:07

had to go. Thomas

40:09

was down there, dying or dead, and I

40:11

couldn't leave him behind. The

40:15

heel of my boots met with the basement floor

40:17

and I nearly fell. It

40:19

was covered in something thick and wet. I

40:22

caught myself on the wall but was shocked

40:25

to feel something hot and pulsing beneath my

40:27

hand. Packard vines

40:29

clung to the walls between the dim

40:31

bulbs that flickered erratically on and off.

40:35

It could have been a trick of the low light, but it

40:37

looked like pale rippling moss covered most

40:40

of the walls between the vines. I

40:44

walked slowly down the hallway, carefully

40:46

placing the sole of each boot flat

40:48

on the ground before taking another step.

40:52

Whatever was covering the floor was so slippery that

40:54

I was sure I would fall at any moment.

40:57

The light grew dimmer the further I went, but

41:00

I could hear something further ahead. A

41:04

sing-song voice filled with excitement and

41:06

adoration. It

41:08

was Packard. Eat,

41:11

that's right, eat, he

41:14

said from somewhere up ahead. Enjoy

41:18

your offering, masters. There

41:21

was a wet plop followed by the

41:23

scraping of metal on stone. Oh,

41:26

there will be more soon, Packard

41:28

groaned. The rain was

41:30

long today and the sky swells

41:33

with your precious sustenance. The

41:36

wet sounds of chewing followed. A

41:39

special treat for you today, master,

41:41

Packard shouted. Rare

41:44

indeed. We haven't had one

41:46

of these in many years. I

41:50

heard Packard grunting and something heavy sliding

41:52

across the concrete floor. Ahead

41:55

of me the hallway made a 90 degree

41:57

bend and I was certain that the

41:59

man made would be just around the corner. My

42:03

fingers tightened around the shotgun and I could feel

42:05

the barrel bob up and down as my arms

42:07

began to shake. Who

42:09

the heck was he talking to? Someone

42:14

tried to partake in your feast,

42:16

but no, Reverend Packard has

42:18

brought him here to pay for his

42:21

crimes. This heretic

42:23

shall sustain you all. Feast

42:26

on his corpulent flesh. I

42:29

stopped and peed around the corner towards the

42:32

old man's voice. Packard

42:34

was pulling Thomas' bloated body into the

42:36

middle of a room covered in these

42:38

slimy pale moss. His

42:41

massive body only moved a few inches with

42:43

each of the old man's tugs, but

42:46

I was shocked at the astounding strength he

42:48

must have had to move Thomas. He

42:52

dropped these sagging appendages to the floor and

42:54

stepped back. The

42:57

moss began to shake and shiver. Ripples

43:00

like ocean waves ran across the

43:02

wall as three fissures began to

43:05

open. For

43:07

a moment I feared the basement walls were going

43:09

to give way, and I

43:11

considered running for the staircase. Before

43:14

I could, the fissure is

43:16

open to wider to reveal two

43:18

huge jagged rows of teeth. A

43:22

bellowing roar erupted from the openings, and

43:25

the teeth ground together before springing

43:27

open. Fat, lazy tongues

43:30

dropped from inside the huge holes

43:32

and slithered onto the floor toward

43:34

my friend. Thin

43:36

tendrils of flesh at the tip of

43:38

each tongue circled at Thomas' swollen appendages

43:40

and began to rip him apart. The

43:44

tongues pulled the pieces back into the holes.

43:47

The mouse on the wall

43:49

ended. They chewed noisily. Oozing

43:51

chunks of flesh were thrown into each of

43:54

the mouse on the walls before these slithering

43:56

tongues returned for another bite. Thomas

43:59

had. Green for a moment, but the

44:01

rapid blood loss had killed him almost and

44:03

delay. The monstrosities

44:05

in the wall made quick work of

44:08

the remains. He was gone

44:10

before I could take a single stab. So

44:13

this is what Packard does to the made. Their

44:17

had never been a furnace down

44:19

here. Packard had never destroyed any

44:21

of it. He was feeding these

44:24

abominations that terrible me that fell

44:26

from the sky. Staring.

44:29

Into horror at the mass creatures in the

44:32

wall. By. Had finally convinced to

44:34

turn and leave on the old men. part of

44:36

the sad. Reverend.

44:38

Packard It turned toward me and smiled.

44:41

Even the smothering tongue seem to orient

44:43

themselves in my direction to acknowledge me.

44:46

The shotgun in my hands were shaking

44:48

so badly that I know the drop

44:50

dead. Jacob

44:52

Packard a question with Glia. Oh

44:55

what a surprise, but I'm not

44:57

sure that you should be here.

45:00

What Is this I bartered

45:02

and and my best attempt

45:04

at intimidation? What Are you

45:06

doing? Completing

45:09

the disposal process, Packard

45:11

said, smiling at me

45:13

intently. There was

45:15

a shovel as left hand. The

45:18

blade covered and rather. I

45:20

assumed he had been using it to

45:22

scoop of the me to feed us

45:24

monstrosities. I think

45:27

it's time for you to go home or

45:29

the mares going to have to find a

45:31

new member for the city work crew. The

45:34

i don't understand I muttered. Bringing

45:37

the shotgun up to level with packard.

45:40

Went though, what are you doing enough? He.

45:43

Very asked me that Jacob. Isn't

45:46

it obvious? I'm feeding

45:48

the masters of course. He

45:51

replied. Gesturing toward the

45:53

cavernous miles on the walls. I

45:56

could know clearly see that What I'd

45:58

taken from Loss. Was grotesque

46:00

A flash coding? The was. Just.

46:04

Like you been doing all these years.

46:07

Oh. What are they are I

46:09

stammered, they are the first ones

46:12

he said matter of factly. The

46:14

first ones to consume the cast all

46:17

those many years ago. When

46:19

the rain of flesh first south three

46:21

people ate of the guest. This.

46:24

Was their blessing and. I

46:26

serve them and soda you. If

46:29

we didn't see them then they would. Have

46:31

to find other ways to

46:33

satisfy themselves. They

46:36

may not work out so well for

46:38

the signs Citizens of Olympia Springs. Packard.

46:42

And I stared at each other for

46:44

a moment. eyes locked into smile, began

46:46

to drift away. Take.

46:49

Other: I'm going to have a to

46:51

leave now he said lived in the

46:54

shovel than to a defensive position. The

46:57

three miles stretched and road behind

46:59

them. This will be

47:01

your last chance before I am. I

47:04

pulled the trigger silence seen him before

47:06

he could finish his idle threat. A

47:10

red spray a blood covered the fleshy

47:12

while behind and send in the flailing

47:14

tongues into a frenzy. New

47:17

laptop. the fresh crimson strain. Thought of

47:19

the floor looking for something else to

47:21

drag inside. Packard

47:23

was struggling weekly on the floor,

47:25

body riddled with buckshot. As the

47:28

tongues began to wrap around Ama,

47:30

he screamed as they pull them

47:32

apart. After

47:34

the tongues had finished devouring packard at

47:36

a slithered in my direction. I

47:39

turned and ran down the hallways, almost

47:41

sliding and falling on the slick for.

47:44

The slithering sound behind me. It was

47:46

getting closer as I neared the circular

47:48

stairs. Looking over my

47:51

shoulder, I saw that the Ride

47:53

in Tongues had stopped at the

47:55

turn in the corridor they jutted

47:57

in. strained by travel to Travel

47:59

no further. I've

48:01

got a bit of relief as I bounded

48:03

up the stairs. Or when

48:05

I finally reached to my old pickup truck. I.

48:08

Fumbled in the bad for the two cans

48:10

of gas and I pulled them over the

48:12

side. I watch back into

48:15

the Sanctuary and began to pour the

48:17

contents of the first containers over the

48:19

pews. The sounds of guttural screams or

48:21

pouring through the open office door and

48:23

I knew those tongues were still struggling

48:26

at the corner of the hall, hoping

48:28

that I was stupid enough to go

48:30

back inside. Making

48:32

my way outside I ran to the back in

48:34

this to the have he had to me old

48:37

coal chute. Gasoline sloshed

48:39

as I took the final can

48:41

and do the black hole and

48:43

drop the container inside. Another

48:46

shriek erupted from below. went to get her

48:48

the what smack of the tongue slamming against

48:51

the sides of the shoot. They

48:53

were searching for me, but I was fairly sure

48:55

they wouldn't be able to reach me from that

48:57

distance. I

49:00

pulled a zippo lighter from my pocket, enrolled

49:02

the we'll. Send. In Sparks from

49:04

the Flint and Igniting the work. It.

49:07

Soared through the darkness as I open

49:09

my hand and client heavily against the

49:11

stone for below. And

49:14

eruption of fire burst allies in

49:16

golfing the entire basement. The.

49:18

Tongue spasm does the flames linked

49:20

against them. I slam the steel

49:22

had closed and began to walk

49:24

to my truck. Before

49:27

the engine turned over, I could

49:29

see the break low flame through

49:31

the stained glass windows. The Sanctuary

49:34

would soon burn them, bringing the

49:36

building collapsing and on itself. Loud.

49:38

That's enough to kill those things.

49:41

Maybe all this is Donna. I

49:44

didn't stick around to watch it burn. I

49:47

just hard but bad to my truck and

49:49

out at home. The

49:53

City Works crew all received a

49:55

termination letters the following week. I.

49:58

Haven't heard from any worry about whether or not. The

50:00

new who were destroyed the church but. There.

50:02

A better than by chance they know that it

50:04

was mayor. Dell.

50:06

The M you can to get Thomas

50:08

had seen me there. There's no mistaking

50:10

that. I

50:13

spend my unemployed mind sitting on the

50:15

poor to my house reading see paperbacks

50:17

and a lot in the sky always

50:19

expect in the meter ran down and

50:22

worrying about what would happen if nobody

50:24

picked it up. But

50:26

for months and never salah. Asserted

50:30

working for the state Highway Department resurfacing

50:32

roads are like ago and it's than

50:34

a bit of an adjustment and going

50:36

from doing so little word to bust

50:38

in my but day in and day

50:40

out. But. I like it. Our.

50:43

As a bonus, I still get to

50:45

work outside, which I've always enjoyed. Things

50:48

were looking up. At

50:50

least for a while. I'm pretty sure some

50:53

bad stuff is brewing. Yesterday.

50:56

While I was putting up traffic cones and I

50:58

knew or excite. A grizzly

51:00

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51:02

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52:06

I live in a small town near London.

52:08

People. Keep disappearing by the river.

52:11

Written by a jail good when

52:14

ninety ninety. Have

52:19

any? Have you heard of the Thames

52:21

River Monster? Back in the

52:23

spring of Twenty Six team a video

52:25

Found It's Way Onto You Tube that

52:27

was filmed in the London Borough of

52:29

Greenwich. It. Showed what appears

52:31

to be some kind of creature briefly

52:34

surfacing and swimming around your the oh

52:36

to arena. A for a

52:38

sinking back beneath the murky surface, the

52:41

video words at last I looked at

52:43

have garnered over half a million views

52:45

and hundreds of comments as sent an

52:47

uproar around the internet. It

52:50

was picked up by publications as big

52:52

as time and people all over the

52:54

Uk and indeed the world began to

52:56

speculate what a wise. Some.

52:59

Thought that I might have been a whale which adventure

53:01

it up river from the ocean. While.

53:03

Others speculated that and might be the same

53:06

to Loch Ness monster. Taken. A

53:08

vacation from it's home and Scotland.

53:11

More. Recently a new picture emerged

53:14

last year. Taken. By a

53:16

man walking on the banks of the river.

53:18

Net shows what appears to be the head

53:20

of the creature is taking part of it's

53:23

head out of the water staring at the

53:25

viewer with one read. I just like with

53:27

the video of many decried the soda was

53:29

nothing more than a hoax or simply a

53:32

picture of a rocker piece of wood that

53:34

people blew out of proportion. However,

53:37

one I look at that picture now

53:39

I can help with shiver uncontrollably. Because.

53:42

As much as I wish I did. And. I

53:45

know it's real. You.

53:48

See, I live in a medium sized market

53:50

town of made an Ad or roughly around

53:52

thirty miles to the west of one then.

53:55

I have lived here for the past twelve

53:57

years after being transferred to the London office

53:59

and. The company from Los Angeles.

54:02

After living for so long and the city.

54:05

I wasn't in the mood to live

54:07

in another and so I moved here

54:09

close enough that I can commute to

54:11

work each day. But far enough

54:13

away from the hustle and bustle that I can

54:15

breed. Many people

54:17

have told me that the town's a

54:19

shell that it's former self, and while

54:21

I admit that they may be right,

54:24

it's too quiet enough for me here.

54:26

Compared. To what are you staff to deal with?

54:28

An hour later. Nothing. Much really

54:31

ever happens here. At least

54:33

a used to. Every

54:36

damn roughly six or seven years

54:38

ago, people begin to complain about

54:40

their pads going missing. In

54:43

small numbers at first and then

54:45

at increase in intervals. I'm friends

54:47

with one of the local constables

54:49

and over drinks one night in

54:51

the pub I found out about

54:53

the rash of Houdini. that pads.

54:55

As. He referred to them. Miss

54:58

the bloody oddest thing. Now. As

55:00

he said between the polls of his

55:03

whiskey. Know worlds in

55:05

town as having their animals vanish

55:07

without a trace moly in and

55:09

around the riverfront. When I

55:11

questioned him as to why I hadn't

55:14

seen anything written about the rash of

55:16

disappearances in the Maidenhead Advertiser, I was

55:18

honestly a little shocked by what he

55:20

said next. The

55:23

department is said. I'm keeping a lid

55:25

on things. Until we know

55:27

what's happening, at least less than the we

55:29

need to do is set the entire town

55:32

and a panic. At.

55:34

The time I simply took will be

55:36

satisfied. I may not agree with

55:38

it, but if it's what the police think as

55:41

bad as to whom I'd argue. In

55:43

retrospect, however, I wish that I

55:45

impressed a little more. Aura, just

55:47

flat out lead what I've been

55:49

told. For the next

55:51

few years, pets continued to vanished into

55:53

thin air and all the rage slow

55:55

down. And whether that was because

55:58

they were being taken lesser people simply. The

56:00

know lol The near the water is much though

56:02

I honestly don't our. The next

56:04

big shoe to drop for me happened

56:06

didn't twenty nineteen as I was out jogging

56:09

along the river on one of my days

56:11

off. Wonder whether permitted I often like to

56:13

jog back and forth between made in head

56:15

and Born and. The four

56:18

and a half mile exercise would take me

56:20

along Foot Pass which ran next to the

56:22

Thames. Allowing me some very

56:24

peaceful views of the water and boats

56:26

going by. Surprise.

56:28

Me though not many people were out on

56:30

a path with me, something that I simply

56:32

chalked it up to be in a weekday.

56:35

However, As I entered a certain path

56:37

that cross somebody's his field. I

56:40

was a bit surprised to see what like

56:42

by two or three officers standing with who

56:44

I could only assume was the landowner. Night.

56:47

In slow my work out though. Only

56:49

assuming that they had had to have been

56:52

called do Do Troublemaking Teenagers or something That.

56:55

There. Wouldn't be the first time around

56:57

here without board at they tend to

56:59

get. My

57:01

assumption died as I moved past them.

57:03

Our. Touching. A brief snippet

57:05

of their conversation. I

57:08

understand what you're telling me. The man

57:10

was same. But. To explain to

57:12

me our bleeding cows something that is

57:14

perfectly capable of so meme could have

57:16

just ran into the river and drowned

57:18

from light and did it. Decided it

57:20

was tired of living in cook itself

57:22

out. The words caused me

57:24

to slow my pace to a walk and

57:27

my my begin to raise As I called

57:29

my breath the missing path of flashed in

57:31

my mind for the first time and minds.

57:34

This. Couldn't be connected to them, could

57:36

they? Began to shake

57:39

the thought away. There's no

57:41

way occurred I thought. That's not

57:43

even the same town anyways. But

57:46

as I began to relax be rising

57:48

sound of the man's agitated yells at

57:50

drifted over to me. What

57:52

do you mean I have to keep quiet

57:54

about this, I've lost one of my cause

57:56

neuro worried about how other people will react

57:59

to? His words

58:01

made me stop data my tracks and

58:03

I feigned new down time. I you

58:05

are. Still, In a quick glance

58:08

over my shoulder. The

58:10

three men had begun moving off,

58:12

the words again becoming an audible

58:14

know I could still hear the

58:16

landowners agitated toner. I

58:19

stood up feeling equal parts perplexed

58:21

and uncertain. So. It

58:23

is connected us. but dogs and cats

58:26

are one thing. Who or

58:28

what would take an entire cower. As

58:31

i stared at the retreat in backs of

58:34

the three of feel been washed over me

58:36

like a wave. Cause. In a

58:38

large shiver to shoot up my spine a.

58:41

Nice different like a board as

58:43

I recognize the sensation. It

58:46

was the feeling of being watched. The

58:49

I turned to look around, the walking

58:51

path was empty in both directions that

58:53

I could see and staring across the

58:55

river I saw no one standing on

58:58

the opposite bank. A

59:00

second shiver pass through me and for reasons

59:02

that I couldn't understand at the time. I

59:04

began to feel extremely vulnerable out in

59:07

the open. Alone.

59:10

And finally my eyes drifted down to

59:12

the river itself, and it's murky waters

59:15

consuming whatever lay beneath them. A

59:17

third shiver made me begin moving

59:19

again. Slow at first in an

59:22

increase in until I was rapidly

59:24

jogging away from the spot. All

59:26

the while the feeling of being

59:28

intensely watched remained. It only disappeared

59:30

when I got about half a

59:32

mile away. It to this day

59:34

I've never forgotten our area, the

59:36

sensation of being looked at by

59:38

something that I couldn't see wise.

59:40

Eerie and honestly fear inducing.

59:44

The realization that whatever was happening was

59:46

occurring not just in town, but farther

59:49

out made me begin to dig a

59:51

little. The police were truly doing a

59:53

tremendous job at suppress in any stories

59:55

from getting out, even go into the

59:57

local library and digging back to news.

1:00:00

They brought a call from years ago. I

1:00:02

found not even a single mention of

1:00:04

any pad vanishing. However,

1:00:07

when I accidentally open the book

1:00:09

containing historical newspaper clippings, well again,

1:00:12

I did find two articles which made

1:00:14

something uncoil itself inside of me. The.

1:00:17

To clippings were from well over

1:00:19

half a century ago, the first

1:00:21

from Nineteen Forty seven, in the

1:00:23

second from Nineteen Fifty Four. I

1:00:27

would have slammed the book shot if it had not

1:00:29

been for the bar. It's board headlines that caught my

1:00:31

eye. For people

1:00:33

unaccounted for after floodwaters recede proclaimed

1:00:35

the Nineteen Forty Seven Club and

1:00:38

two children reported missing during flooding

1:00:40

said the one from Fifty Four

1:00:42

my side strain of the my

1:00:45

seat unable to keep from shivering

1:00:47

slay the as I tried to

1:00:49

brush away the.the my mind was

1:00:52

connecting. Not get a

1:00:54

grip Marceau just because people disappeared long ago

1:00:56

during flooding To some mean that it has

1:00:58

anything to do with the pads and that

1:01:01

cow going the same. remember

1:01:03

which road college professor always how to

1:01:05

do about. Correlation

1:01:07

does not equal causation.

1:01:11

I close the book in place to back

1:01:13

on the shelf, beginning to head for the

1:01:15

exit. And besides I

1:01:17

thought the tell me animals that

1:01:20

have gone messina people. And

1:01:23

little did I know what was coming next.

1:01:27

The I attempted to push the entire

1:01:29

ordeal for my mind, helped by the

1:01:31

fact that a very time sensitive project

1:01:33

and landed on my lap at work.

1:01:37

For the next few months I immersed myself

1:01:39

and work, letting any and our thoughts of

1:01:41

the matter drift to the back of my

1:01:43

mind. Just as

1:01:45

the project was beginning to

1:01:47

wind down or something. now

1:01:50

Fulani tickets place the pandemic.

1:01:53

Like the rest of the world, Maidenhead and

1:01:55

the rest of the country went into lockdown.

1:01:58

Levy know mcdonnell me for a sense. Travel

1:02:00

and I began to work from

1:02:02

home, attending meetings via webcam like

1:02:05

everybody else. The

1:02:07

during that time I didn't hear

1:02:09

anything more about anything disappearing, likely

1:02:11

due to people and animals remaining

1:02:13

shut up inside their houses. In

1:02:16

retrospect our I know that it was

1:02:19

still happening. It was just that there

1:02:21

wasn't many if any who saw it.

1:02:25

The next I heard of the situation was

1:02:27

in the summer of Twenty Twenty Two and

1:02:29

it was one things true. the ramped up

1:02:31

for me. Nigel, my

1:02:34

constable, friend and I were finally able

1:02:36

to meet up again for drinks, choosing

1:02:38

to me that the crowning brave for

1:02:40

a change in scenery here. As.

1:02:42

We call each other up with what had happened

1:02:45

over the last few years of pints and dinner.

1:02:47

I saw that something weighed heavily on the

1:02:49

man's mind. Find the

1:02:52

I gently broach the subject. Nigel

1:02:55

man my top. You. Look

1:02:57

like a man with a weight on his shoulder is. For

1:03:01

a few moments he seemed to fight with

1:03:03

himself before answering. If

1:03:05

I tell you something, can you promise

1:03:07

to keep it between us? Yeah, just.

1:03:09

Drop. In his voice to almost inaudible

1:03:12

whisper as he shot looks around as

1:03:14

if he were afraid of being overheard.

1:03:16

Of course I answered. Cock

1:03:19

in an eyebrow at him as I popped another

1:03:21

chip into my mouth. He again

1:03:23

seem to fight with himself and and spoke

1:03:25

again. The. Remember the missing animals

1:03:27

I told you about a few years ago

1:03:29

when. I nodded. It's

1:03:32

not just them that disappearing anymore.

1:03:35

Niger to my head up to lock eyes

1:03:37

with them as shock filled me. For

1:03:39

a moment I couldn't speak and then I

1:03:41

forced the word from my lads. Flight.

1:03:45

He nodded somberly and then took a large

1:03:47

pool of his drink before leaning in a

1:03:49

gonna. When the

1:03:51

pandemic started of we received our first missing

1:03:54

persons karma the know to the woman who

1:03:56

broke the rules and went out for a

1:03:58

walk along the river late. The night.

1:04:01

Nobody heard from her again and it was

1:04:03

into their grandson. Rang is that anybody know.

1:04:06

He shook a sad. When. Never

1:04:08

found any trace of her and she was

1:04:10

only the first. The. Last

1:04:12

two years we've had five people

1:04:15

are included. Completely vanished

1:04:17

by the riverfront. Nobody

1:04:20

in the department knows what's happening to

1:04:22

them. He. Shot and

1:04:24

other wary look around before finishing. Or

1:04:27

at least is saying anything.

1:04:31

But Nigel, This is far more

1:04:33

serious than animals fantasy. Man I

1:04:35

pressed. These are people who are

1:04:37

often vanishing like they just walked

1:04:39

into the Bermuda Triangle or something

1:04:41

that. I mean, heck for all

1:04:43

you know, we've got some kind of killer

1:04:45

kidnapper and delivers. The. Cops have

1:04:47

to tell the townsfolk what's happening. My.

1:04:50

Friend shook his head slowly my

1:04:52

said the exact same thing to

1:04:54

them made he began that the

1:04:56

answers always been the same thing

1:04:58

every time telling them and lead

1:05:00

to a mass panic situation which

1:05:02

after what happened the last few

1:05:04

years we cannot allow our and

1:05:06

quote. And. Does any of us

1:05:08

try to say anything? It. They. Made it

1:05:11

quite clear that will lose our jobs and

1:05:13

have our names smeared to boot. I

1:05:16

ran a hand through my hair. Thoughts: Race Intro:

1:05:18

I'm I'm like a Formula One car. Signed.

1:05:21

Me aside and as the only question that

1:05:23

I could thing to. What

1:05:26

is actually going on around here? I

1:05:29

really don't know. Marsala. He.

1:05:31

Answered before giving me a serious

1:05:33

lock. And but

1:05:35

my advice as your friend. Do

1:05:38

your best to stay out of it. This

1:05:40

is far bigger than you can imagine.

1:05:43

I turn the man's words over my head

1:05:45

for a few days. He hadn't

1:05:47

seemed like he was threatening are trying to

1:05:49

intimidate me. he was merely a friend tried

1:05:52

to look out for me. Than.

1:05:54

So as much as the mental image of

1:05:56

those old newspaper clippings out of me as

1:05:58

much as my my. The screamed at me

1:06:00

to do anything. It. I. Posted

1:06:03

a way. it's empty to take Nigel

1:06:05

advise. I became lost

1:06:07

in my work again and honestly I like

1:06:09

we would have dropped it then in there

1:06:12

had not been for what happened max. A

1:06:15

One night in August I found myself

1:06:17

walking along Raimi Road towards my flat

1:06:20

building an. Item been able

1:06:22

to sleep and us had decided to take

1:06:24

a long while to try entire myself out.

1:06:27

Insomnia. Was something that I frequently

1:06:29

doubtless, and the only way that I

1:06:31

found I could make myself sleep during

1:06:33

such about was to physically drained by

1:06:35

energy. The. Street lamps

1:06:37

cast small circles of lie down upon me

1:06:39

as I walked and to the black rally

1:06:41

in that. Occasionally. Sparing

1:06:44

glances at the dark water below.

1:06:47

Every time that I walked by the river

1:06:49

now I couldn't help but feel the same

1:06:51

creepy sensation that I had had their day

1:06:53

in the field. A

1:06:55

been watched, scrutinized, even.

1:06:59

But. I reasoned that as long as I was

1:07:01

up here with the ram in between me and

1:07:03

at that I was save. As.

1:07:05

I drew within sight of my flat. However,

1:07:07

a cry cut through the stone as. The

1:07:10

somebody help. I froze

1:07:12

like a statue of the yell for a

1:07:15

moment and then began sprinting forward. The

1:07:17

voice with sounded like a young man's

1:07:19

voice game again. Anybody please

1:07:22

help? As I

1:07:24

approached in area which served as a more

1:07:26

in area for a small boat I saw

1:07:28

what looked like two teenage boys standing near

1:07:31

the rally in. The. Terrifying

1:07:33

looks on their faces as they turned towards

1:07:35

me sent a new chill throw me. What's

1:07:38

going on I demanded. The.

1:07:40

Two boys stumbled over there words for

1:07:43

a moment and then one pointed at

1:07:45

the stairs are made. He was just

1:07:47

goofing over at the stabs we all

1:07:49

were after being out have and fauna.

1:07:52

The. Second floor gop. He was standing on

1:07:54

the steps when he slipped and fell

1:07:56

and. He came up for a moment

1:07:58

a ways away and must. Then carried by the

1:08:00

car and. And then he literati

1:08:03

yell and disappeared under the water. The.

1:08:05

First grabbed my arm and almost to

1:08:08

death grab. Please. Sir, you

1:08:10

have to help them. My

1:08:12

mind raced. Okay, the police will

1:08:14

be here in time. They have to be called. Our.

1:08:17

I made my mind up. Pulling. My

1:08:19

cell phone from my pocket interest in it

1:08:21

and the teens and. Call.

1:08:23

The cops right now. I ordered

1:08:25

as I stripped off my jacket, ticking

1:08:27

off my shoes as well. What

1:08:30

are you doing in the second assed

1:08:32

voice? Still frantic. I'm

1:08:34

going into try and find them I

1:08:36

answered and then I stepped over these

1:08:39

small sign proclaiming and do Not Enter

1:08:41

which was held over the exit to

1:08:43

be street by. Jane. For.

1:08:45

A moment I said of the top of the

1:08:47

stairs staring down at the water. A

1:08:50

potent mixture of anxiety. into a

1:08:52

small extent, fear rushed into me.

1:08:55

But. I couldn't waste time on emotions.

1:08:58

The. Kid's life depended on it. I

1:09:01

dove. The water

1:09:03

was surprisingly cold for summertime, even

1:09:05

a night. And stabbed

1:09:07

into my exposed skin like multiple

1:09:09

knife blade as it envelops me.

1:09:13

For. A few moments I was blind a pushy

1:09:15

my way to the dark water towards when

1:09:17

I hope for the surface. And

1:09:19

then my head of broke into the air. The.

1:09:22

Media The I heard the sound of one of

1:09:24

the teens frantically speaking on the phone. Okay

1:09:27

good he got through are. Turning

1:09:29

I saw the second was staring down a

1:09:31

me. I slowly began

1:09:33

to swim against the current which was stronger than I

1:09:35

had for his thought it would be in order to

1:09:38

stay in place. Where. Did you

1:09:40

last see Ama? I called out. Spring.

1:09:42

Water from my mouth. The

1:09:45

kid's dad didn't static finger behind

1:09:47

me and lady downriver. Over

1:09:49

there and he call back. I

1:09:52

turned a judge in approximately where he had

1:09:54

pointed and began to slam. Same.

1:09:56

God I was on the swim team in high school

1:09:59

and college. I thought. The. Current

1:10:01

was already working my muscles and I made

1:10:03

my way to the area. Taking a deep

1:10:05

breath I dove under and unable to see

1:10:07

anything and begin to see other around with

1:10:10

my hands. I pray that I

1:10:12

would feel the brush of the teams clothing her

1:10:14

hair. But there is nothing that. My

1:10:17

surfaced noting that I drifted a

1:10:19

small distance from my original die

1:10:21

point. I could so clearly see

1:10:23

the teens, but they know appeared to be a

1:10:26

little further away. Before.

1:10:28

They could ask me if I found anything. I

1:10:30

took another deep breath and over again. My.

1:10:32

Hands aimlessly reached out of

1:10:34

thinkers, grasping for any protests.

1:10:37

How deep is this river? anyways?

1:10:41

As my lungs began to burn and scream

1:10:43

proxies and now my left hand finally did

1:10:45

brushed up against something. But. I

1:10:47

and to the new at that it wasn't the data. Neither.

1:10:50

Hair and or human skin? or clothing at

1:10:52

the feeling that split across my palm. And

1:10:55

it wasn't the bottom either. This.

1:10:57

Was something else entirely. A

1:11:01

giant shiver pass through my body and for

1:11:03

a moment I froze. Feeling. The

1:11:06

current begin carrying me away. I

1:11:08

hated how with even my eyes wide open, I

1:11:11

couldn't see my own hand in front of my

1:11:13

face. I saw more vulnerable than

1:11:15

I ever had a my life. And

1:11:17

the worst part was the feeling of being

1:11:19

watched was back. At.

1:11:21

A time and place the made me feel

1:11:24

not just creeped out would fall on terrified.

1:11:26

I didn't wait for anything else to happen.

1:11:29

I just take to the surface. As.

1:11:32

Soon as my i broke into the air and

1:11:34

new the sounded reached my here is. It.

1:11:36

Was somebody calling to me? but it wasn't

1:11:38

either of the teams. Blinking.

1:11:40

The water for my eyes. I saw than an

1:11:43

officer was now standing between the two. He

1:11:45

leaned over the rail. in his eyes find

1:11:48

me. Sir your bag or

1:11:50

v her right now He our. Wave.

1:11:52

In an arm for me to swim

1:11:54

back for a moment even with a

1:11:57

strains fear inducing encounter that i it

1:11:59

out underwater. The mental image

1:12:01

of the boys drowning figure dance to

1:12:03

my mind overriding everything else as my

1:12:05

own life guard and stings rear their

1:12:08

had again. The. Boys

1:12:10

two daughters Somewhere I have to find am.

1:12:13

I yelled at preparing to die again. And.

1:12:16

That was when the officer you out his

1:12:18

voice more frantic than I'd ever heard. a

1:12:20

copspeak. Did. The heck out

1:12:22

Of The water Now. The man's

1:12:24

tone and made me look up at Am

1:12:26

and what I saw told me to the

1:12:29

boehner his face looked almost as and in

1:12:31

the glow of the nearby street lamp. He

1:12:34

wasn't afraid, He was beyond terrified and

1:12:36

not for himself. It sound

1:12:38

like all the blood in my veins

1:12:40

turned to ice as the realization Emmy.

1:12:43

Oh crap. I didn't

1:12:45

think beyond that. I simply

1:12:47

began pouring and the power as I drove

1:12:50

my arms and legs to the water towards

1:12:52

where I had entered. As

1:12:54

I got half way back though a surge of

1:12:56

waterstone in the rows of from beneath and almost

1:12:58

directly behind me. I thought

1:13:00

the pusher that sweep upwards against my legs

1:13:03

and feet. Moving. Forward in

1:13:05

our to the side before vanishing. And

1:13:08

it caused a long forgotten memory to

1:13:10

surged forward and my mind. A

1:13:13

memory of sitting on my old surfboard in

1:13:15

the Monica as I waited for the next

1:13:17

set of ways. Feeling. A

1:13:19

similar sensation race under my feet as

1:13:22

a dead. And. Turn into

1:13:24

see a massive great white shark and flash

1:13:26

to by Andrew Me. Having

1:13:28

taken what I can only describe as a

1:13:30

test lunch or me. In the

1:13:32

connection caused a new a motion to

1:13:35

flood every inch of my body. One

1:13:37

I add insult since that fateful day.

1:13:40

Koror. Something.

1:13:42

Just took a freak in practice swing at

1:13:44

snatch me. The. Surge

1:13:46

of adrenaline that came with it powered

1:13:48

me. I've made you me swim faster

1:13:50

than I ever have and competitions. I

1:13:53

was terrified that at any moment I

1:13:55

would feel something sees me and dragged

1:13:57

me underwater to and an unmanageable fade.

1:14:00

As I do recall to the stairs

1:14:03

I risked to look up the officer

1:14:05

was standing near the water's edge of

1:14:07

arm out our to as an equally

1:14:09

terrified but to what I thought adorned

1:14:11

his face. Come on

1:14:13

sir, grab my hand He ordered. Would

1:14:17

be last. A burst of strength that I

1:14:19

had and me I take hard and reached

1:14:21

out. Feeling. His fingers close

1:14:23

around my wrist as he practically wrenched

1:14:25

me out of a water. For a

1:14:27

few moments I simply lay in a

1:14:29

crumpled a heap on the stairs and

1:14:31

breathing heavily and unable to stop shaking

1:14:33

and as the memory of what I

1:14:35

felt a brush against my hand in

1:14:37

the waters surge of played over and

1:14:39

over and my mind. And.

1:14:42

Then I stared a look out that the much

1:14:44

relieved of face of the cob. New

1:14:47

made. have no idea how lucky

1:14:49

you are. Disorder wiping swear from

1:14:52

his brower. The

1:14:55

next few hours were blears figuratively

1:14:58

and literally. The. Officer

1:15:00

hold both myself and the to tends

1:15:02

to the station. Where. We

1:15:04

were split up into three interview rooms

1:15:06

and gave statements as to what had

1:15:08

happened, what each of us and same.

1:15:11

After a little while and to my surprise,

1:15:13

Nigel came into the room and gave me

1:15:16

a change of dry clothes to change into.

1:15:19

The what made my heart sank was the

1:15:21

fact that he wouldn't even meet my eyes

1:15:23

and he refused to answer any of my

1:15:25

questions about what was happening under. Fire

1:15:28

Me! Half an hour later, the door opened and

1:15:31

who I can only assume was one of the

1:15:33

senior officers had entered. After

1:15:35

taking a final statement for me,

1:15:37

see Jamie along? Serious lock. And

1:15:40

before either to leave Mr. Blake any

1:15:42

distress something to you or. I

1:15:44

seldom a look as I pulled on the code that

1:15:46

I had been given. The. Man's

1:15:49

next word stopped me that our.

1:15:52

None of what you just told us will

1:15:54

ever be spoken about outside of the station.

1:15:57

Manager. Doug to look at them. Disbelief.

1:15:59

Silly. me. "'Excuse me,'

1:16:01

I asked." He nodded. "'None

1:16:04

of what any of you three have told us will

1:16:07

ever find its way out of this building. You

1:16:09

will not go to the press and tell them anything,

1:16:12

nor will you start telling others in

1:16:14

town.' He narrowed his eyes

1:16:16

at me. "'I

1:16:19

understand you're an American over here on

1:16:21

a business visa. You've been

1:16:23

here for a fair few years now with

1:16:25

no record or history of trouble. You're

1:16:28

an upstanding citizen of the

1:16:31

highest quality. However, if you

1:16:33

don't obey this order and attempt to

1:16:35

say anything to anyone, that can change,

1:16:38

and you will be shocked at how quickly

1:16:40

you'll be deported back to America.' I

1:16:43

felt my jaw drop open as I stared at him.

1:16:45

I was speechless. "'Are

1:16:48

you kidding me?' The

1:16:51

man took my silence as acknowledgement, standing

1:16:53

and moving for the door, but

1:16:55

he stopped, leaning back to cast a final

1:16:57

icy look at me. "'Then

1:17:00

you will also no longer be

1:17:03

seeing Constable Ackerson either. He's

1:17:06

being transferred over to Swindon,

1:17:08

I'm afraid.' And with that he

1:17:10

laughed, leaving the door open for me

1:17:12

to exit.

1:17:14

Instantly I knew the man had found out

1:17:16

either directly from Nigel or another Saurus what

1:17:18

he had told me. His

1:17:21

transfer was punishment for it. And

1:17:24

so I left the station, picking up

1:17:26

my cellphone at the front desk, having

1:17:28

been returned from the teenager. I

1:17:30

quickly made my way back to my flat,

1:17:32

refusing to look at the river and walking

1:17:34

on the other side of the street as

1:17:36

I reached Ray Mead Road. Inconsolable

1:17:39

rage was beginning to build up inside

1:17:41

of me. These idiots

1:17:43

are taking the disappearance of animals of people

1:17:46

likely by whatever's in the river and just

1:17:48

sweeping it under the rug for whatever reason.

1:17:50

And as those old

1:17:52

newspaper clippings are in fact connected, this

1:17:55

has been going on for close to a century

1:17:57

if not longer." The

1:17:59

thought made a plan begin to form in

1:18:01

my mind. I should have realized

1:18:03

that they had already thought of it. When

1:18:07

I returned to the library the next day, I

1:18:09

found that I couldn't find either of the newspaper

1:18:11

clippings. There was a blank page

1:18:13

where they had once been held, showing they

1:18:16

had realized their error and cleaned up.

1:18:19

And it made the rage that I felt burn

1:18:21

even brighter. A new plan

1:18:23

began to form in my mind, one

1:18:26

that part of me knew was incredibly stupid,

1:18:28

but the rest didn't

1:18:30

care. Those people aren't

1:18:32

going to die with no one knowing what really

1:18:34

happened to them if I have anything to say

1:18:36

about it. And that thing

1:18:38

will be exposed to the world. And with

1:18:42

the idea firmly in my mind, I began

1:18:44

to gather the supplies that I needed. I

1:18:47

knew my plan to get proof was dangerous.

1:18:51

What I didn't know though was that in a

1:18:53

few nights time, I would

1:18:55

come face to face with a

1:18:57

horror beyond my understanding or comprehension.

1:19:00

One that would almost be the last thing

1:19:02

I ever saw. As

1:19:06

much as I wanted to get going on my plan

1:19:09

right away, the truth was that it

1:19:11

took me a few days to gather all the supplies

1:19:13

that I thought that I would need. I didn't

1:19:16

dare purchase anything from these shops and made

1:19:18

and had the police for

1:19:20

like, we already keeping close tabs on me

1:19:23

after my interview that night. And

1:19:25

the last thing that I wanted was for them to

1:19:27

catch wind and attempt to stop me. Instead,

1:19:30

every evening after I finished work in

1:19:32

London, I would swing through

1:19:34

the shops there picking up a few items at

1:19:37

a time before driving back home. By

1:19:40

Thursday, I had managed to acquire

1:19:42

a rather sturdy kayak, along

1:19:44

with a few underwater cameras, waterproof lights

1:19:46

and a fishing rod. And part

1:19:49

of me wished that I could have bought a bigger boat.

1:19:52

I felt sure the monster in the river could

1:19:54

easily flip it if it wanted to. But

1:19:57

it was the only thing I knew I could stealth at

1:19:59

least slide. in and out of the tims

1:20:01

without attracting attention. I

1:20:04

had also decided that I would take one

1:20:06

of the largest knives from my cutlery set

1:20:08

as a last resort defense. If

1:20:10

it came to that, I was

1:20:12

in the middle of finalizing my plans when my

1:20:15

phone rang. Picking

1:20:17

it up, I saw with a pang of

1:20:19

surprise that Nigel's name was displayed on the

1:20:21

caller ID screen. I

1:20:23

quickly hit the accept button and pressed the phone to

1:20:25

my ear. Hello? For

1:20:29

a moment there was no response and then

1:20:31

the man's voice filtered through the speaker. Marshall,

1:20:36

he paused for a moment letting out a

1:20:38

sigh before continuing. Mate,

1:20:40

I'm so sorry for what happened a few nights

1:20:42

ago. I didn't think they would

1:20:44

go quite that hard on you. I

1:20:47

let out a sigh of my own. Don't

1:20:49

worry about it man, I know it wasn't exactly

1:20:51

your choice anyways. And I'm

1:20:54

sorry as well. If I'm the

1:20:56

reason you're being transferred over to Swindon, the

1:20:59

sound of a snort came from the other end of

1:21:01

the line. Nah, that

1:21:03

wasn't you. I should have

1:21:05

been smart enough to realize that they would have

1:21:08

had someone tailing me everywhere to

1:21:10

make sure that I didn't flat my gums. I

1:21:13

hesitated for a moment. The

1:21:16

urge to tell him what I was going to do

1:21:18

was strong and he was my closest friend here. Finally

1:21:21

I gave in. I'm

1:21:24

going after it Nigel. For

1:21:27

a few moments there was such a silence on the

1:21:29

other end of the line that I thought the call

1:21:31

had been disconnected. And

1:21:34

then the man's voice returned to barely above a

1:21:36

whisper. What? I

1:21:39

took a deep breath and then continued. Just

1:21:42

what I said man, I'm going after it tomorrow

1:21:44

evening. Not to kill it, you

1:21:46

would need a double barreled shotgun or more at the

1:21:48

very least to even try to hurt it. Now

1:21:51

I'm going after to try and get proof.

1:21:55

More silence on Nigel's end and then he

1:21:57

let out another sigh. that

1:22:00

I'm going with you, mate." The

1:22:02

man's words surprised me to the point

1:22:04

of speechlessness. Before I

1:22:06

could even attempt to argue, he continued, "'Man,

1:22:09

don't try and talk me out of this. I know

1:22:12

there's no talking you out of it, and

1:22:14

there's no way that I'm letting you go

1:22:16

after that bloody monster by yourself. Just

1:22:19

shoot me the details before the end of the

1:22:21

day and I'll bring my kayak to wherever we're

1:22:23

starting the surge." And with

1:22:25

that, he clicked off. I

1:22:28

slowly pulled the phone away from my

1:22:30

ear, staring at it, with my mouth

1:22:32

hanging open slightly. Holy heck, I didn't

1:22:34

expect that. I expected a million

1:22:37

one possible ways that he might try and talk

1:22:39

me out of it, but I didn't expect him

1:22:41

to jump feet first and to help. A

1:22:44

new wave of gratitude washed over me as I

1:22:47

not for the first time realized just how good

1:22:49

a friend the man was. I

1:22:52

ran my hand through my hair and stood up, moving

1:22:54

to the sliding door to the

1:22:57

flat's balcony. The cool breeze felt

1:22:59

good against my face as I slid

1:23:01

the glass back and stepped outside. My

1:23:04

mind churned as I mentally began rearranging

1:23:06

the plan to accommodate for the presence

1:23:08

of a second person. This

1:23:11

might actually be a good thing, I thought. With

1:23:14

a second person, it means it'll be harder for anyone

1:23:16

to sneak up on us. Having

1:23:18

somebody to watch your back is infinitely

1:23:20

safer than going so low. As

1:23:24

I stood there leaning against the railing and

1:23:26

thinking, a shiver suddenly shot through

1:23:28

me. It blindsided me with how

1:23:31

out of nowhere it had come from, and

1:23:33

I stood up straight, staring around and down

1:23:35

at the parking lot below. For

1:23:38

a moment, my eyes shifted to the gloomy

1:23:40

corners of the lot. I

1:23:42

wondered if, like with Nigel, the higher ups

1:23:45

had people watching me at all times now.

1:23:48

It would make sense with them wanting me

1:23:50

to stay silent, but I saw no one.

1:23:53

The shiver came again, and

1:23:55

with it came a sweeping, stomach-dropping feeling

1:23:57

of dread, Because it suddenly.

1:24:00

Dawned on me that I had had the exact

1:24:02

same sensation a few years ago. Our. Standing.

1:24:04

On the bank of the Thames After shame the

1:24:07

man talk about his cow disappearing. And.

1:24:10

Been certain that I was being watched.

1:24:12

Slowly. My eyes lifted and moving

1:24:14

across the parking lot across to Raimi

1:24:16

and Road. To. The dark

1:24:18

water. Shivering. A third

1:24:21

time As the potent mixture of anxiety

1:24:23

and fear rose I slowly stepped back

1:24:25

inside and close the sliding door choosing

1:24:27

for the first time in a lotta

1:24:29

close the blinds as well as the

1:24:31

feeling disappeared immediately and I let out

1:24:33

a relieved sigh before turning back to

1:24:35

the couch in coffee table. Know. I

1:24:37

had final preparations to make. The

1:24:42

next day pass by in a blurry. I

1:24:44

spend most of a text in the finalized

1:24:46

plan back and forth with night on. The

1:24:49

side of our starting point was from in

1:24:51

my mind. Even. though I

1:24:53

felt certain that the creature at no problem

1:24:55

moving great distances up and down the Thames.

1:24:58

As was proven by the incident near

1:25:00

Born and years ago. I.

1:25:02

Felt certain that it's main hard was

1:25:04

much closer to home. And

1:25:07

fact, I had a hunch that the half mile

1:25:09

span of waterway between Made In and bridge in

1:25:11

Bolter is lock. Possibly. Extend

1:25:13

in down to the railway bridge. Was.

1:25:16

Where I would have the best chance of coming

1:25:18

across dead. I

1:25:20

would wait until the sunday, get a lower in

1:25:22

the sky and and bring my kayaking gear to

1:25:24

meet the man. The bridge gardens. As.

1:25:27

I waited. I fully admit that the

1:25:29

horror that I had felt finding myself

1:25:32

in the water with it that night

1:25:34

returned haunting me like some kind of

1:25:36

vengeful specter. But. I refuse

1:25:38

to budge. This. Is the

1:25:40

only way anyone will ever know the truth? To.

1:25:43

Snow back, You know now? That

1:25:46

I was, in retrospect that I had listened to

1:25:48

my God. That will haunt me

1:25:50

for the rest of my life. a

1:25:54

few hours later i pulled my land rover

1:25:56

into the parking lot of the texaco station

1:25:58

opposite the park Shutting off

1:26:00

the engine, I spared a glance at my

1:26:03

watch. 5.45 pm. I

1:26:06

should be hearing from Nigel in about 15 minutes.

1:26:09

Stepping out of the SUV, I used the

1:26:11

time to detach the kayak from the roof,

1:26:13

setting it down next to the driver's door

1:26:15

and pogging the rest of my supplies inside.

1:26:19

A small pang of anxiety shot through me

1:26:21

as I kept shooting looks at my watch,

1:26:23

seeing the minute slowly dragging by. Man,

1:26:27

I seriously hope that he doesn't flake on me

1:26:29

or get caught. As

1:26:31

determined as I am, even if I have to

1:26:33

admit the idea of getting into that river, knowing

1:26:36

what lurks beneath scares the

1:26:38

ever-living crap out of me. My

1:26:41

worries were dispelled a moment later as I felt

1:26:43

my phone vibrate in my pocket. Pulling

1:26:46

it out, I felt relief sweep through me as I

1:26:48

saw that he had arrived. Picking

1:26:51

up the kayak and paddle, I jagged across the

1:26:53

street and entered the park. Landing

1:26:56

my way along the paths, I stopped to

1:26:58

catch my breath near the fountain trough in

1:27:00

the center for a moment, shooting

1:27:03

glances around and behind me. I

1:27:06

couldn't help but feel a little bit paranoid,

1:27:09

half afraid that I would suddenly be swarmed

1:27:11

by corrupt officers who had followed me. But

1:27:15

the park thankfully remained silent and empty.

1:27:18

I let out a shaky breath and then picked

1:27:20

the kayak back up and continued down to the

1:27:22

water. Nigel

1:27:25

was already waiting for me by the stops, his

1:27:28

own kayak sitting by his feet. He

1:27:30

was fumbling with something on his waist and as

1:27:33

I approached him he started tugging down

1:27:35

on his shirt and jacket. Oh,

1:27:37

oh, it's only you, Marshal, he said,

1:27:40

letting out a loud whoosh of air. I

1:27:43

allowed a small smile to crack on my face.

1:27:46

Well, who else do you think it would be, Patrick

1:27:48

Allen? The snort of

1:27:50

laughter escaped the man. Mate,

1:27:53

you need to update your references. Nobody

1:27:56

our age except cinephiles are going to have

1:27:58

any idea who that is. I shrugged. Hey,

1:28:02

I got you to laugh and relax a little, didn't I?

1:28:05

He nodded and then turned to Sirius,

1:28:07

gesturing towards the water. So

1:28:10

you're ready. Like a

1:28:12

balloon being popped, the levity burst, allowing

1:28:15

the anxiety and fear to rush back in as

1:28:17

I turned to stare at the ever-darkening water. Finally

1:28:21

I spoke. Yeah, let's go. The

1:28:25

two of us slid our kayaks into the water, climbing rather clumsily into

1:28:27

them and pushing off. We headed in

1:28:29

the direction of the railway bridge, away from Bolter's lock.

1:28:36

We would start our sweep up there, slowly making our

1:28:38

way back down towards it. Each of us now had

1:28:40

four GoPro cameras mounted on our kayaks. Two

1:28:45

were mounted on the bow and stern of

1:28:47

a small boat, while two others in waterproof

1:28:50

housings were stuck to the undersides. Also

1:28:53

facing in opposite directions underwater.

1:28:56

Small but powerful LED lights had also

1:28:59

been stuck to the undersides, meaning

1:29:01

that anything that came near the kayaks would

1:29:04

be caught clearly on camera, while

1:29:06

we each had powerful flashlights to aim

1:29:08

up top. I

1:29:11

slid my paddle into the water, pushing as

1:29:13

hard and gently as I could to avoid

1:29:15

making too much noise. I

1:29:18

didn't need unwanted attention until we were squarely

1:29:20

in place. Every

1:29:22

second or third paddle I would swivel my head

1:29:25

around like I was an owl, attempting

1:29:27

to shoot looks in all directions for any sign

1:29:29

of a splash or movement to be on the

1:29:31

norm. But nothing

1:29:34

seemed to disturb the slowly moving surface

1:29:36

of the Thames. Far

1:29:39

from helping me relax, I instead felt

1:29:41

the tendrils of anxiety, paranoia and dread

1:29:44

begin to increase inside of me as darkness

1:29:46

slowly began to spread across the river. This

1:29:49

thing could be anywhere, even directly

1:29:51

under you, and you wouldn't even

1:29:54

know. The

1:29:56

thought made me snap my head down to look in

1:29:58

the water. Nothing stared

1:30:00

in the illumination provided by the

1:30:02

underwater lights. Hey,

1:30:05

is everything alright? Came a

1:30:07

whisper and I looked up to see Nigel staring back

1:30:09

at me, an expression identical

1:30:11

to what I felt visible on his face.

1:30:15

Yeah, I'm fine man, just keep going.

1:30:18

He nodded but I saw him nervously cast

1:30:20

another look at the water as

1:30:23

we rounded the top of Guard Club's island,

1:30:25

swinging round to begin moving back up the

1:30:27

river to begin our sweep. A

1:30:30

sudden ear piercing sound caused me to

1:30:32

almost jump out of the kayaks cockpit.

1:30:35

For a few moments my mind was

1:30:37

unable to process what it was as

1:30:39

blind panic overtook me, and

1:30:42

then it suddenly clicked as the whistle came again,

1:30:45

along with the sound of clanging on the

1:30:47

railway tracks directly over our heads. The

1:30:50

train. It's the freaking evening

1:30:52

train coming into town. I let

1:30:55

out a shaky, shuddering breath which was

1:30:57

followed by a short tense laugh. I

1:31:00

heard Nigel let out an equally nerve-wracked

1:31:02

chuckle. I scared

1:31:05

the devil out of both of us,

1:31:07

I see, he called. That's one way to

1:31:09

phrase it. I replied and then

1:31:11

shot a glance ahead and to the right. Where

1:31:14

a flash of red near the waterline caught my

1:31:16

eye. What the?

1:31:19

I knew it hadn't been light reflecting

1:31:21

off of anything, none of the pylons

1:31:23

along the shore had reflectors on them,

1:31:26

and the only other light that I could see shone

1:31:28

from the windows of the houses along the banks. White

1:31:31

and soft yellow. So

1:31:33

what the heck had I seen? A

1:31:36

shudder suddenly ran through me and I fumbled

1:31:38

for the flashlights in my lap, almost

1:31:41

dropping it into the water. Snapping

1:31:44

it on, I quickly aimed it where I had

1:31:46

seen the red flash. Nothing

1:31:49

was there. A

1:31:51

mixture of confusion and weariness wafted into my

1:31:53

mind as I continued to shine the light

1:31:55

around for a second, but

1:31:58

the beam found nothing except a speed. boats

1:32:00

and narrow boats moored at the river's

1:32:02

edge. Did

1:32:04

I just see things? Am I getting

1:32:06

so paranoid that I'm beginning to hallucinate? I

1:32:10

shook my head. Focus, Marshal.

1:32:13

You can't lose your cool now. Losing

1:32:15

it would be a fatal mistake. I

1:32:18

snapped the light off, turning to Nigel, who wore

1:32:20

a questioning look on his face. I

1:32:23

thought I saw something is all. Come

1:32:26

on, let's keep moving. For

1:32:29

the next 20 minutes, the two of us slowly

1:32:31

paddled back up the river towards the lock. We

1:32:34

slid underneath the main bridge, crisscrossing from one

1:32:37

side of the tins to the other. Sounds

1:32:40

drifted out to us from the town around us.

1:32:42

The sound of music came from one of the

1:32:45

houses along the bank. A

1:32:47

police car siren began wailing from somewhere

1:32:49

closer to the town center, and

1:32:52

the occasional hum of a boat's generator filtered

1:32:54

from the boats moored to either side of

1:32:56

us. Nothing

1:32:58

else broke the stillness except the sounds of

1:33:00

our paddles dipping in the water. I

1:33:04

kept watch much more vigilantly now,

1:33:07

shooting glances to either side. With

1:33:10

each stroke we took towards the lock, my

1:33:12

dread and paranoia grew. It

1:33:15

crescendoed as we finally reached the spot that

1:33:17

I had dove in after the doomed teenager.

1:33:20

The memory of feeling the water surge under

1:33:22

me, along with what I had

1:33:25

touched in the dark, fueled it even further.

1:33:28

But still nothing seemed to disturb the

1:33:30

water's surface. I

1:33:33

began to wonder if we might have picked the wrong night

1:33:35

to try and find the creature, and

1:33:38

maybe it decided to head to Bourne End,

1:33:40

or heck, even further downstream. We

1:33:43

might be out here half the night for nothing. I

1:33:46

felt a bit ashamed that the thought brought me

1:33:48

more of a sense of relief than disappointment. Still

1:33:52

seemed to read my thoughts as we

1:33:54

drew even with Woodhurst, sparing

1:33:56

a glance over at my flat building. A

1:34:00

mage, I hate to say it, but I think it's headed

1:34:02

elsewhere for the night. I'm sorry,

1:34:04

but I don't think you're getting proof tonight."

1:34:08

The man's words felt a bit like a punch

1:34:10

to the gut and I saw myself begin to

1:34:12

deflate. "'Eh, you might

1:34:14

be right, man,' I said and then shot a glance

1:34:16

ahead. "'What the heck? Why

1:34:18

not?' I spoke again. "'How

1:34:20

about we just shoot quickly up by the weir and

1:34:23

then we'll turn around and head back to the park

1:34:25

and call it a night?' The

1:34:27

man's voice immediately answered and I heard the

1:34:29

plain relief in his voice. "'It

1:34:32

sounds like a plan to me, Marshal.' He

1:34:35

began to pedal forwards, leading the way as

1:34:37

I followed. As

1:34:40

we approached Raymill Island, the river split

1:34:42

off in two directions. To

1:34:45

the left and caught in the glow of the street lamps on

1:34:47

the road above, I could see

1:34:49

the large black doors which marked the

1:34:51

entrance to Bolter's Lock, where

1:34:53

boats would enter and have the water raised or

1:34:56

lowered to allow passage through. To

1:34:58

the right, clad more in darkness, was

1:35:01

the stretch of water that would lead to the

1:35:03

weir itself. And we headed

1:35:05

to the right. The low thundering

1:35:07

sound of the water rushing down from the

1:35:09

river above began to reach my ears as

1:35:12

we drew closer to a walkway bridge that

1:35:14

ran overhead. I

1:35:16

let out a final sigh as we slid underneath it.

1:35:19

I knew for a fact the water got

1:35:21

shallower up near the weir, too shallow for

1:35:24

anything monstrous to hide. "'Hey,

1:35:26

Nigel,' I called out. I

1:35:28

saw him stop paddling, turning to look at me. Yeah,

1:35:33

I began to open my mouth to answer him,

1:35:35

and that's when something bumped against my

1:35:37

kayak from below." My

1:35:40

blood ran cold as I felt the stern rise

1:35:43

slightly out of the water, and

1:35:45

I whirled around at my seat, eyes wide

1:35:47

and searching. After

1:35:49

a split second, I saw the shadow

1:35:51

of something moving quickly away, retreating back

1:35:53

into the darkness. Something

1:35:56

massive. The

1:35:58

water became still once more. more but I knew

1:36:01

that I hadn't imagined things this time. All

1:36:04

the terror that I had felt a few days

1:36:06

ago returned with a vengeance. It's

1:36:09

here. Instantly I

1:36:11

realized just how foolish and dumb my

1:36:13

plan had been. You

1:36:15

idiot, this is like going after a lion

1:36:17

with a pork shop hung around your neck.

1:36:20

Get out of the water. I

1:36:23

swallowed hard before speaking again. My voice

1:36:26

came out high and squeaky. Nigel.

1:36:30

The man must have immediately noticed the change in

1:36:32

my voice because when he answered, his voice

1:36:35

was deadly serious. What

1:36:38

is it, Marshall? I took another

1:36:40

shaky breath. We're

1:36:42

not alone out here anymore, I

1:36:44

forced out. For a

1:36:46

second there was silence. Oh,

1:36:49

heck, he breathed. Even though

1:36:51

I knew he couldn't see me, I nodded. I

1:36:54

suddenly get the feeling that we're in over our

1:36:57

heads here, man. We need to

1:36:59

get our butts to shore now. The

1:37:01

fear between the two of us now was so palpable

1:37:03

that you could have cut it from the air with

1:37:05

a knife. Still, he kept

1:37:08

his voice level and calm. There's

1:37:11

no way to climb up onto the island where we are.

1:37:13

We have to turn around and paddle back towards where the

1:37:15

fork in the river is. Back to

1:37:17

where the docks by the boathouse are. Out

1:37:21

of the corner of my eye saw him

1:37:23

allow the water to slowly begin carrying him

1:37:25

back downstream, the bow of his

1:37:27

kayak coming about. Just

1:37:29

let the water turn you around and then

1:37:32

as calmly as you can paddle, we

1:37:34

don't want to give it a reason to rush us. I

1:37:38

felt like my heart would stop and I would die

1:37:40

of fear at any moment. I

1:37:42

could practically hear the pounding of it in my

1:37:44

ears even over the crash of water ahead. And

1:37:47

still I listened to the

1:37:49

man allowing the water to pull my kayak backwards. Slowly,

1:37:53

almost painfully so, my bow swung around until

1:37:55

I pointed back the way that we had

1:37:57

come. All the while,

1:37:59

the horrific. feeling of being watched hung around

1:38:01

my neck like a noose. Watched

1:38:04

by something which was sizing us up

1:38:06

for supper, slowly I dipped my

1:38:08

paddle into the water and pushed, following Nigel

1:38:10

who was now about a boat length or

1:38:12

two ahead of me. The seconds

1:38:15

felt like hours as we made our

1:38:17

way towards our salvation. Splashing

1:38:20

sounds began to come from behind us and it

1:38:22

took every ounce of willpower in me to not

1:38:24

look back. Finally

1:38:27

we rounded the corner under the footbridge again and

1:38:29

my eyes begin to

1:38:31

woe with tears of relief as I saw

1:38:33

the dock slide into view. We're gonna

1:38:36

make it, we're gonna make it, allowing

1:38:38

a small smile to cross my face. I

1:38:41

glanced around one more time casting a

1:38:44

last look down into the water and

1:38:46

I felt all the hope wash away

1:38:48

like a loved one swept overboard in

1:38:50

a storm. Because it stared

1:38:52

up at me a few feet below the

1:38:55

surface. Even

1:38:57

in the glow of the underwater lights I couldn't

1:38:59

see it perfectly but it was

1:39:01

enough to make me want to scream. The head

1:39:04

of one as wide across as my coffee

1:39:06

table reminded me of the head of a

1:39:08

salamander, except no salamander

1:39:11

has red eyes. Eyes

1:39:13

that reflected back in the light and

1:39:16

none half long and needle-like looking teeth

1:39:18

jutting from their mouths. A

1:39:21

whimper escaped my lips. Oh

1:39:23

God! From the corner

1:39:26

of my eyes saw Nigel slowly turn around

1:39:28

but it was as if I had

1:39:30

been frozen in place. I

1:39:32

could only look down and watch in horror as

1:39:34

the head slowly rose up towards me, revealing

1:39:37

its massive body behind it as it began

1:39:39

to open its mouth. I

1:39:42

begin to shake uncontrollably and

1:39:45

that's when with a flick of its tail it

1:39:47

suddenly shot forward out of the

1:39:49

glow from my lights. For

1:39:52

a moment my mind couldn't comprehend what had

1:39:54

happened and then the horrific

1:39:56

realization hit me like a freight train. I snapped

1:39:59

my head off. Nigel, look

1:40:01

out! But my warning

1:40:03

came a moment too late. What

1:40:06

happened next is a blur. The

1:40:08

only way to describe it is, if you've

1:40:10

ever seen the film Lake Placid and remember

1:40:13

the scene where the canoe, the Bridget Fondum,

1:40:15

Brendan Gleason were in, was literally flipped up

1:40:17

in the air and over. Well

1:40:20

that's what happened to Nigel. One

1:40:22

second he was sitting there, I remember seeing the

1:40:24

look of horror flash across his face as he

1:40:27

realized what was about to happen. Then

1:40:30

the next his kayak was slammed up and

1:40:32

out of the water, flipping upside down

1:40:34

as he disappeared beneath the churning surface.

1:40:38

I screamed at the man's name again but no

1:40:40

answer came, and worse,

1:40:42

his head didn't break the water's surface.

1:40:46

I shot a glance over at the dock now less than

1:40:48

15 feet away. It

1:40:50

would be so easy to quickly paddle and

1:40:52

reach it while the beast was preoccupied, but

1:40:55

I couldn't. I couldn't just

1:40:57

abandon my friend, even if

1:40:59

it was too late for him as the animalistic

1:41:01

side of my mind screamed. I

1:41:03

had to try and save him. After

1:41:06

all, if it had been me that had just been flipped,

1:41:08

I knew that he would have dived in after me. I

1:41:12

grabbed the large kitchen knife from where

1:41:15

I had stowed it, along with the

1:41:17

waterproof flashlight. As I

1:41:19

saw the water around Nigel's kayak begin to

1:41:21

froth I stood up, the kayak beginning to

1:41:25

tap. I took a final deep breath, saying a

1:41:27

quick silent prayer that I would live to breathe

1:41:29

the air again, and dove.

1:41:33

The water was as biting me cold as it had been

1:41:35

the last time that I had been in it, making

1:41:38

me almost expel my breath as I

1:41:40

slid headfirst underwater. The

1:41:43

only thing that kept me going was sheer determination.

1:41:46

Fighting the urge to surface, I powered forward,

1:41:48

kicking forward towards the fray and readying the

1:41:51

knife in my hand. With

1:41:53

the other I snapped the light on, the brightest

1:41:55

heck beam cutting through the dark water. My

1:41:59

kayak drifted over me the underwater lights,

1:42:01

banishing away more of the gloom, revealing

1:42:04

a sight that I wish I had never seen, one

1:42:07

that will haunt my dreams until the day I

1:42:09

die. The

1:42:11

beast had to have been at least 30

1:42:13

or 40 feet long, its tail was pressed